Senators Say Napolitano Has ‘Lax Approach’ to Immigration Enforcement

CQ reported that: Senate Republicans accused Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Thursday of adopting a “lax approach” to immigration enforcement, citing media reports indicating that dismissals of deportation cases in Texas have surged in recent months. “It appears that your Department is enforcing the law based on criteria it arbitrarily chose, with complete disregard for the enforcement laws created by Congress,” read a letter from Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., John Cornyn, R-Texas, and five other GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The letter illustrates the ongoing feud between Republicans and the Obama administration over enforcement of immigration laws. Republicans alleged that DHS has eased off enforcement, citing a Houston Chronicle article earlier this month that said Houston immigration courts dismissed 217 cases in August and 174 in September, up from 27 in July. That reported increase in dismissals came after Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton issued a directive in August that the agency would drop removal cases against illegal immigrants who had pending applications to remain in the United States, did not have criminal convictions and did not pose public safety or national security threats, but would move ahead to deport suspects in more serious cases. The administration touts figures showing it has deported a record number of illegal immigrants. Earlier this month, Napolitano and Morton said that more than 392,000 illegal immigrants had been removed in fiscal year 2010. About half of them were convicted criminals. DHS spokesman Matthew Chandler said the charge that DHS is selectively enforcing immigration laws “couldn’t be further from the truth.”