{"id":1828,"date":"2012-10-11T15:46:01","date_gmt":"2012-10-11T19:46:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-immigrationreform.pantheonsite.io\/?p=1828"},"modified":"2017-08-10T14:11:07","modified_gmt":"2017-08-10T18:11:07","slug":"ice-refuses-to-deport-jose-vargas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2012\/10\/11\/ice-refuses-to-deport-jose-vargas\/","title":{"rendered":"ICE Refuses to Deport Jose Vargas"},"content":{"rendered":"
Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) refused to deport Mr. Jose Antonio Vargas, an admitted illegal alien, and felon. \u00a0\u00a0The Minnesota State Patrol pulled over Mr. Vargas, who was in Minnesota to give a lecture, for wearing earphones while driving. \u00a0(Star Tribune<\/a><\/em>, Oct. 6, 2012) When Vargas presented law enforcement with a Washington State driver\u2019s license that had been canceled due to possible fraudulent activity, the State Patrol arrested him and called ICE. (Id<\/em>.) After his arrest, police took Vargas to the Hennepin County jail, where ICE agents questioned him. \u00a0He walked out a free man. \u00a0(New York Times<\/a><\/em>, Oct. 8, 2012)<\/p>\n Mr. Vargas first made headlines in June 2011 for his story in The New York Times Magazine, in which he described his life as an illegal alien in the United States. \u00a0(New York Times Magazine<\/a><\/em>, June 22, 2011) In that article, he admits not only that he is an illegal alien, but that he has committed multiple crimes in order to stay and work in the United States as a reporter for several well-known newspapers. Audaciously, a year later, Mr. Vargas authored a story for Time Magazine, entitled \u201cNot Legal Not Leaving.\u201d (Time Magazine<\/em>, June 25, 2012) In this article, he expresses pride in the fact that his actions have encouraged other illegal aliens to publicly admit their illegal status. \u00a0Regarding the fact that he has not yet been deported, he boasts, \u201ccoming out didn\u2019t endanger me; it [] protected me.\u201d (Id<\/em>.)<\/p>\n Indeed, Mr. Vargas\u2019s story presents astonishing evidence that the Obama Administration intends to pick and choose which immigration laws it enforces and when. \u00a0This becomes only to clear when one considers the fact that Mr. Vargas, in his original article, admits to committing the following offenses:<\/p>\n Remarkably, instead of being embarrassed when asked why the law enforcement agency did not detain and begin removal proceedings on Vargas, ICE showed defiance. \u00a0\u201cMr. Vargas was not arrested by ICE, nor did the agency issue a detainer,\u201d said an ICE spokeswoman in a statement. (Politico<\/a><\/em>, Oct. 8, 2012) \u201cICE is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that prioritizes the removal of public safety threats, recent border crossers and egregious immigration law violators, such as those who have been previously removed from the United States.\u201d (Id<\/em>.)<\/p>\n Not only does ICE\u2019s statement regarding Mr. Vargas demonstrate complete disdain for the rule of law, it raises the serious question of whether ICE is even following its own policies on the detention and removal of illegal aliens. \u00a0The agency\u2019s policy memo on deportation priorities<\/a> clearly points out that ICE\u2019s first priority<\/span> for removal is placed on aliens who are a threat to public safety, including terrorists and criminal aliens\u2014and in the latter case felons and aggravated felons in particular. \u00a0Yet, ICE may still try to claim it is following agency policy as Mr. Vargas was never prosecuted for or convicted of the above crimes. \u00a0Such an argument, however, leads to no other conclusion that ICE \u2013 our nation\u2019s immigration law enforcement agency \u2013 intends to turn a blind eye to confessed criminals. \u00a0Mr. Vargas not only admitted to the entire world that he was an illegal alien and had committed additional serious crimes, he even admitted he knew he was breaking the law when he committed the acts themselves. \u00a0He wrote that, like most Americans, even he expected the federal government to deport him. \u00a0However, to-date the Obama Administration has done nothing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) refused to deport Mr. Jose Antonio Vargas, an admitted illegal alien, and felon. \u00a0\u00a0The Minnesota State Patrol pulled over Mr. Vargas, who was in Minnesota to give a lecture, for wearing earphones while driving. \u00a0(Star Tribune, Oct. 6, 2012) When Vargas presented law enforcement with a Washington State<\/p>\n\n