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• House Subcommittee Examines Detainee Health Care, Again
• House Panel Examines Border Violence and Proposed Merida Initiative
• E-Verify Participation Increases; ACLU Wants More Oversight
• DHS Announces New Travel Authorization Program for Visa Waiver Countries

House Subcommittee Examines Detainee Health Care, Again
On Tuesday, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law held a hearing in response to a recent series of news stories in the Washington Post that claiming Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) provided substandard and negligent care to detainees. (Read more about these stories)

Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) opened the hearing by attacking ICE, for not making any improvements since a previous committee hearing on the subject six months earlier. After the hearing, Lofgren told the Washington Post that ICE officials, "are defending the indefensible. Whatever you think about the overall debate on immigration, you are not supposed to kill people who are in custody." (Washington Post, Immigration Agency to Reveal Some Death Data, June 5, 2008)

Ranking Member Steve King (R-IA) defended ICE, arguing that statistically a person is more likely to be killed in a criminal act in Washington, DC or Houston than to die in an ICE detention facility. Additionally, he made the point that any detainee unsatisfied with their care or treatment can leave the facility by agreeing to voluntary deportation. He asked, "Why should the American people be responsible for paying for Rolls-Royce medical care for illegal aliens?" (Washington Post, Immigration Agency to Reveal Some Death Data, June 5, 2008)

Julie Myers, head of ICE, defended her agency by telling the panel that ICE spent almost $100 million on detainee health care in fiscal year 2007 alone. Moreover, she explained that while the detainee population has increased by more than 30 percent since 2004, the actual number of deaths has declined from 29 in 2004 to 7 last year. She also testified that ICE has contracted with outside experts to conduct annual facility inspections, previously performed by ICE. (Statement of Julie Myers, Assistant Secretary U.S. immigration and Customs Enforcement Department of Homeland Security to the House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law, June 4, 2008)

ICE claims that through new oversight procedures such as these, it has decreased the mortality to 4.3 per 100,000 in 2007. (Mortality Rates at ICE Detention Facilities, May 6, 2008) For example, Ms. Myers cited statistical data showing its facilities have a relatively low and declining mortality rate. In 2005, ICE's mortality rate was 7.5 deaths per 100,000, compared to 540.5 per 100,000 among the general federal prison population.

House Panel Examines Border Violence and Proposed Merida Initiative
On Thursday, the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border, Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism examined the need for the Merida Initiative. The initiative is a multi-year proposal to provide equipment and training to support law enforcement operations and technical assistance to Mexico and Central America for long-term reform and oversight of security agencies. (State Department Fact Sheet, Apr. 8, 2008)

In 2007, President Bush requested an initial $500 million for Mexico and $50 million for Central America, which was included in the FY08 Supplemental request. The FY09 budget proposal includes $450 million for Mexico and $100 million for Central America, awaits Congressional approval. (Ibid.)

David T. Johnson, head of the State Department's Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, testified to the urgency of the Merida Initiative. He told the Subcommittee that in Ciudad Juarez there have been more than 300 drug related murders this year alone-surpassing the total for all of 2007-and the city's police chief resigned after drug traffickers assassinated his deputy and several members of the police force.

He gave credit to Mexican President Calderon for taking steps to stem the violence, such as reorganizing the federal police, providing new resources to security services, deploying the military to support police operations focused on rooting out corruption in government, and extraditing a record number of drug traffickers to the United States. Nevertheless, said Johnson, President Calderon realizes these actions are not enough and has asked the United States for assistance.

He told the panel the Merida Initiative is not a "traditional foreign assistance request," but instead a "new paradigm for security cooperation." (Statement of David T. Johnson Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of State, before the House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border, Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism, June 5, 2008)

Paul Rosenzweig, head of Homeland Security's Office of International Affairs highlighted the seriousness of the violence near the U.S.-Mexico border. "The drug cartels," he said, "kill with impunity; killing not only members of competing cartels, but also police officers and members of the military who are attempting to protect Mexican citizens from crime and ensure a strong and economically viable Mexico."

He added that this criminal activity does not recognize borders, and gang violence, crime, and trafficking in people and narcotics are affecting the U.S. "This regional violence," he said, "has become a border integrity issue, and the Merida Initiative is the U.S. Government's response…" (Statement of Paul Rosenzweig, Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of International Affairs Department of Homeland Security before the House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border, Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism, June 5, 2008)

Interestingly, during the Subcommittee hearing there was no mention of the controversial portions of the legislation to fund the Merida Initiative that make the aid contingent on allowing investigations into alleged human rights abuses by the Mexican military. Calderon considers these conditions an intrusion on Mexico's sovereignty, and Mexican officials announced in late May that they would wait to see the final version before deciding whether to accept the aid. (Associated Press, Richardson Plugs for Anti-Drug Aid Plan, May 29, 2008)

E-Verify Participation Increases; ACLU Wants More Oversight
In the wake of criticism from the business community and civil liberties groups, South Carolina on Wednesday became the latest state to implement a law requiring employers to verify the legal status of their workers. Under the new law an employer must enroll in and utilize E-Verify or hire only employees with a South Carolina driver's license, an ID card, or the documents needed to obtain one. E-Verify allows employers to electronically verify the social security or alien identification numbers of their newly hired employees with the Social Security Administration or the Department of Homeland Security.

In addition, South Carolina's new law makes it a felony to use false information to try to obtain a job or public benefit, and makes it a felony for an illegal alien to own, purchase or sell a firearm. (The Post and Courier, Sanford Signs Broad Illegal Immigration Law, June 5, 2008)

While many organizations on both sides of the immigration debate agree that worksite enforcement is critical to reforming our nation's immigration system, not everyone is happy about the growing participation in E-Verify. One such group, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has called on the Department of Homeland Security's Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee to closely scrutinize the program. (National Journal, Critics Want Panel to More Closely Scrutinize 'E-Verify', June 4, 2008)

At the Committee's March meeting, the ACLU argued that the mandated use of E-Verify would actually increase identity theft and suggested that Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration and Homeland Security undertake a "file by file" review of existing records to altogether "rule out data inaccuracy." (Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee Morning Minutes, March 12, 2008).

The ACLU did not explain how errors could in fact be eliminated if illegal aliens are using false names and/or fraudulent social security numbers to obtain employment. The Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee is scheduled to renew its review of E-Verify this week.

Next week the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law will also hold a hearing on E-Verify, entitled "Electronic Employment Verification Systems: Needed Safeguards to Protect Privacy and Prevent Misuse." The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security held a similar hearing in May criticizing the SAVE Act, which would make E-Verify mandatory, and touted alternative legislation.

To read more about the House Ways and Means hearing on E-Verify, click here. To read more about the SAVE Act, click here.

DHS Announces New Travel Authorization Program for Visa Waiver Countries
On June 3, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the Interim Final Rule for the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). ESTA, part of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), is a new online system requiring all citizens and nationals of visa waiver countries traveling to the United States for business or pleasure to obtain electronic travel authorization prior to departure. (Department of Homeland Security Press Release, June 3, 2008)

ESTA will replace the current system where citizens of VWP countries complete a written form providing basic biographical, travel, and other eligibility information while en-route to the U.S. Under ESTA, travel authorization may be used for multiple entries and can be obtained up to two years before departure or until the applicant's passport expires, whichever comes first. (Id.)

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff described the program as "a relatively simple and effective way to strengthen our security, and that of international travelers, while helping to preserve an important program for key allies." The program will be open for voluntary participation on August 1, 2008; DHS intends to make the ESTA program mandatory in January 2009.

Chertoff announced the changes during a speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. When asked what counter-terrorism measures are being taken by Visa Waiver countries in light of the fact that Al-Qaeda is recruiting foreign nationals in those countries, Chertoff responded that there is a robust exchange of information and intelligence with participating countries.

He told the questioner, "We now of course have an agreement with the Europeans which validates our collection of passenger name record information from people coming from Europe." But he also added, "I have to say we still have to look not only at the possibility of Europeans being recruited, we have to look at the possibility of North Americans being recruited. And that -- so we are alert to all of the possible ways in which people might try to exploit our preconceptions and turn them against us by presenting us with terrorists who are very much unlike what the perhaps prejudiced view of a terrorist is." (Remarks by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on the Electronic System for Travel Authorization to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, June 3, 2008)

With the publication of the interim final rule, interested parties have 60 days to submit comments. Homeland Security expects to issue final rules in November 2008. To see the text of the interim final rule, click here.