On Tuesday, June 17, rules for contractors who will work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials were posted, taken down, and reissued as the agency struggles to cope with the overwhelming wave of illegal immigrants crossing our southern borders.
The rules for contractors who are tasked with helping ICE transport and house tens of thousands of illegals, many of them women and children, were quickly taken down, only to be reissued five hours later with substantial edits.
According to Fox News, within one business day, the contractors are required to report deaths, escapes, suicide attempts, sexual assaults, contact with smugglers and organized crime syndicates, and “media interest.”
The latter seems to be warning contractors not to talk to the media unless given permission by the government.
The original rules were also meant to cover “escort services for unaccompanied alien children.” The term was soon changed to “transportation services” to avoid misunderstandings, ICE claimed.
In part, the new rules state, “Due to exigent circumstances, the Contractor shall be required to transport juveniles via ground to HUB airports or other staging areas that are not located within the area of initial apprehension.”
“The objective of this contract is to provide highly structured, efficient transportation for UAC from their point(s) of entry/staging location in the RGV to ORR shelters, for the purpose of family reunification or long-term care,” the document says.
ICE officials claim that the original rules were “accidentally” posted before the editing and approval process was complete. But with the posting, removing, and re-posting, ICE appears to be making it all up as it goes along in its losing battle to deal with the tens of thousands of illegals swamping the southwest.
Sen. Jim Inhofe, (R-OK) blames President Obama for this state of affairs, noting that his policies have turned the situation into a “humanitarian crisis.”
Inhofe said:
Since the President created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in 2012 and instructed DHS to “exercise discretion,” the average number of unaccompanied children arriving at our borders has surged by 100 percent, and we are being warned it is only going to increase.
Possible GOP contender for the 2016 presidential nomination, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, also blames the President for this mess.
Cruz said this “humanitarian crisis” is a “direct consequence” of Obama’s actions and rhetoric surrounding illegal immigration.
“We need a President who is willing to uphold the law,” Cruz stated, adding:
On issue after issue the Obama administration has openly ignored, defied, and unilaterally tried to change the law. With respect to securing the border, the Obama administration has handcuffed the courageous men and women who serve in Border Patrol. Morale in ICE is at an all-time low because the political operatives leading this administration are preventing them from doing their job and upholding the law.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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