INZUNZA
From page 4 or good order. All Americans stand behind that proposition. I object to a “one size fits all mandatory approach” to civil detention. That's unenlightened stewardship.
The president is using the threat of immigration pain to pull in the welcome mat and dissuade potential asylum seekers, fleeing violence and poverty in Central America, from coming here. In furtherance of this mindset, prior to getting the boot, Attorney General Sessions enunciated a cruel and inhumane “zero tolerance” policy change that required detention and criminal prosecution of everyone here without an immigration status. Not only does this make incarceration 100% mandatory for all detained men, women and children, but it provides cover to those who believe the bed mandate is mandatory. My 40 years' experience in immigration has given me a broad understanding of the entire process and enabled me to conclude that automatic imprisonment should never be used in lieu of enlightened immigration law enforcement. Unnecessary detention is currently costing taxpayers more than 2.5 billion dollars annually. This is a shameful waste.
In terms of civil detention, here is what I think makes sense. After a thorough vetting, by our highly trained ICE officers, only individuals who pose a danger to national security, our communities or those who pose a significant flight risk should be detained. If, for the relatively few who require follow on monitoring, less expensive alternatives to detention should be used so that our detention system could be humanized without degrading our national security posture or imposing intangible social costs on incarcerated families.
The President talks about the humanitarian need for the wall. Here is a thought. The real humanitarian approach to refugee flight would be to move our refugee operations to Mexico's southern border. Then we could conduct our refugee interviews there and save those who don't qualify the long and dangerous commute to our border. Those who qualify could be transported here, thus mitigating their personal danger. Instead of spending detention money like a drunken sailor, the President could save taxpayers billions of dollars with this compassionate approach and he would be doing the humanitarian thing he keeps talking about. For the “naysayers,” yes, it can be done. I have processed refugees in Moscow, Romania, Viet Nam, Hong Kong, Thailand, Rome, Cuba and Mexico. Mexico would welcome it because it would keep the refugees from illegally transiting Mexico to get to the US border.
Dr. May believes the problems drug addiction gives rise to are rooted in the single parent home. He underscores his point by saying, “You will never hear Mr. Inzunza suggest that the primary societal need is for stronger families.” Well, Dr. May doesn't know me. He might be surprised to learn our academic backgrounds are similar (his PHD is in Sociology while I earned my PHD in Psychology), that I have designed drug and alcohol rehabilitation models and implemented them across the globe when I was Superintendent of Social Actions for the Air Force while stationed at the Pentagon, and I have been a proponent of “two parent” families as a component of a broader approach to the problem of addiction for more than 50 years. As a responsible citizen, I also remain committed to the proposition that securing our border should be based on intelligence and facts, and not pursuant to a “self-aggrandizing campaign agenda.” I also expect the President to tell the truth.
Ricardo Inzunza, a native of San Diego, California, was appointed Deputy Commissioner of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) by President George H. W. Bush`. During his 8-year tenure, his office was the central source for the development, implementation and oversight of all immigration service policies and practices. Now as CEO of RIA International, Ltd, Ricardo is often asked to serve as a business consultant to clients such as the World Bank and the Peoples Republic of China. He can be reached at 202 664 3274 (M), or HYPERLINK “mailto:riatria@aol.com” riatria@aol.com