Tuesday, February 20, 2018

AMERICA'S OPIOID ADDICTION

What's Happening at the Center

As lawmakers continued to debate immigration last week, two

Center staffers testified before Congress. Director of Policy

Studies Jessica Vaughan testified on sanctuary policies and the

opioid epidemic
 before the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee

on Immigration and Border Security, while Resident Fellow in

Law & Policy Andrew Arthur testified on the security and

environmental costs of denying Border Patrol access
 before the

U.S. House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and

Investigations.


The Effect of Sanctuary City Policies on the

Ability to Combat the Opioid Epidemic

Statement by Jessica Vaughan
U.S. House Judiciary Committee,

Subcommittee on Immigration and Border

Security, February 15, 2018

https://cis.org/Testimony/Effect-Sanctuary-City-Policies-Ability-Combat-Opioid-Epidemic


'Knows No Other Country'?
By Mark Krikorian
National Review Online, February 13, 2018
https://www.cis.org/Krikorian/Knows-No-Other-Country

Excerpt: Sen. Grassley and several Republican colleagues have unveiled legislation modeled on the White House immigration framework. It is expected to be offered as an amendment, perhaps as early as today, to the shell bill that Mitch McConnell has put forth as the Senate vehicle for immigration.

The fact sheet describing the bill's high points lists criteria to qualify for the amnesty, including arrival in the United States before age 16. It adds: "Same standards used by the Obama Administration for DACA."


2.
DACA or DACA-Plus?: Who is a ‘Dreamer,’

anyway?

By Mark Krikorian
National Review Online, February 12, 2018
https://cis.org/Oped/DACA-or-DACAPlus

Excerpt: One of the first and most important topics for debate should be the breadth of the proposed amnesty. Who should qualify? DACA only or DACA-plus? The range goes from the roughly 700,000 who now have DACA work permits (as in Bob Goodlatte’s bill in the House), to the 1.8 million suggested by the White House, to 3 million or more under other proposals.

I criticized the White House proposal when it was announced, arguing, among other things, that we should start by amnestying only the DACAs. Jason Lee Steorts here at NRO and Conor Friedersdorf at The Atlantic took issue with my piece and approved President Trump’s goal of expanding the amnesty to encompass more than 1 million additional illegals who either chose not to apply when they could have or were too young to have done so.



3.
The Costs of Denying Border Patrol Access: Our Environment and Security
Statement by Andrew Arthur
U.S. House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on Natural Resources, February 15, 2018
https://cis.org/Testimony/Costs-Denying-Border-Patrol-Access-Our-Environment-and-Security



4.
The Effect of Sanctuary City Policies on the Ability to Combat the Opioid Epidemic
Statement by Jessica Vaughan
U.S. House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, February 15, 2018
https://cis.org/Testimony/Effect-Sanctuary-City-Policies-Ability-Combat-Opioid-Epidemic



5.
The Mutating Sanctuary Virus
By Dan Cadman
CIS Blog, February 15, 2018

https://www.cis.org/Cadman/Mutating-Sanctuary-Virus

Excerpt: By undertaking its action, the Berkeley City Council has, wittingly or unwittingly, upped the ante where resistance to any federal law enforcement matters is concerned. Where will it end? Will some jurisdictions decide not to cooperate with the federal government on heroin or opioid abuse as long as it's small amounts, even knowing that sometimes it's netting the small fish that leads to a larger catch?


6.
Federally Subsidized Job Discrimination? Yes, in an Almost Hidden Program
By David North

CIS Blog, February 15, 2018
https://www.cis.org/North/Federally-Subsidized-Job-Discrimination-Yes-Almost-Hidden-Program

Excerpt: In this Marxist opium dream, U.S. employers are given financial incentives, by their own government, to discriminate against their own citizens. Such a program would seem be both highly unattractive and politically indefensible. What sort of weird political arrangements would facilitate such a program?

Well, it was not passed by Congress. It was created on a small scale within the Bush II administration, expanded mightily by the Obama administration, and so far, has been tolerated (in silence) by the Trump administration. It survives because it was born in and continues to grow in virtual secrecy, and because it is never described in the accurate, if harsh, terms used above. It is no opium dream; it is reality.


7.
The Use of Secret Courts, in Intelligence or Immigration
By Dan Cadman
CIS Blog, February 15, 2018
https://www.cis.org/Cadman/Use-Secret-Courts-Intelligence-or-Immigration

Excerpt: The problem with a hesitancy in using such proceedings to take terrorists and spies into custody and deport them is that it leaves the country vulnerable because the FBI and intelligence agencies are then left with the uncomfortable situation of having to constantly electronically and physically surveil such individuals hoping to catch them right at the cusp of a criminal act (one potentially horrendous or lethal, or one in which our most closely guarded defense plans might be stolen), but before the actual harm can be done.

This is a high-wire balancing act in each and every case. Multiply the number of cases involving such suspects by the dozens, even the hundreds (and this is no exaggeration), and one is left asking why such proceedings aren't being used.


8.
Grassley Proposal Addresses

Weaknesses in Immigration Law

By Mark Krikorian

CIS Blog, February 15, 2018
https://www.cis.org/Krikorian/Grassley-Proposal-Addresses-Weaknesses-Immigration-Law

Excerpt: That’s why the Grassley proposal, based on the White House framework, includes more enforcement measures than simply the wall and other border accoutrements. The measure has serious shortcomings, but its enforcement section suggests the drafters understand that patching holes on the physical border won’t matter much unless you patch the holes in the law itself.


9.
New Senate Confidentiality Provision Is Better, but Still Not Good
By Andrew Arthur
CIS Blog, February 14, 2018

https://www.cis.org/Arthur/New-Senate-Confidentiality-Provision-Better-Still-Not-Good

Excerpt: Assuming that more than a million aliens applied for the benefits in the amendment, adjudicators will be overwhelmed simply by processing those applications, and their ability to identify fraud will be extremely limited, if not nonexistent.

As I stated in my earlier post, "confidentiality provisions should not be a part of any DACA amnesty bill: They promote fraud, hinder law-enforcement and national-security activities (regardless of how they are phrased), will lead to costly litigation, and are simply unnecessary." Even though the confidentiality provision in section 3008 of the amendment is better than that contained in section 10 of the SUCCEED Act, it is still not good.


10.
A $1.5 Trillion Infrastructure Plan, and

Not One Word About 'Hire American'

By Dan Cadman

CIS Blog, February 13, 2018
https://www.cis.org/Cadman/15-Trillion-Infrastructure-Plan-and-Not-One-Word-About-Hire-American

Excerpt: There are no statements embedded anywhere in the plan that funding to initiate and complete the massive infrastructure projects envisioned must come with strict oversight to ensure that the jobs underlying them will be reserved for Americans and lawful workers, rather than illegal aliens. This is particularly important given the propensity of many construction companies to rely on such labor.

Nor is there any indicator that companies will be prohibited from heavily relying on cheap foreign guestworkers plentifully supplied by dubious brokers who make tens of millions of dollars connecting such workers in Third World nations with American companies looking to enhance their bottom line.



11.
Confidentiality Should Be a Non-Starter

in Any Immigration Bill

By Andrew Arthur
CIS Blog, February 13, 2018
https://www.cis.org/Arthur/Confidentiality-Should-Be-NonStarter-Any-Immigration-Bill

Excerpt: If a DACA-eligible alien wants to apply for relief, the alien should be required to disclose all information requested, and that information should be available to any government agency, for any purpose whatsoever. If the alien does not want to disclose that information, he or she is not required to apply for the amnesty. If the alien does, the alien should waive the use of that information. Any provision to the contrary simply encourages deception, and should more properly be captioned a "statute of frauds".


12.
Guam: Wages Increase with Fewer H-2B

Workers

By Preston Huennekens

CIS Blog, February 13, 2018
https://www.cis.org/Huennekens/Guam-Wages-Increase-Fewer-H2B-Workers

Excerpt: Between December 2016 and December 2017, wages rose on the island of Guam by 4.5 percent for public sector workers and 2.53 percent for private sector workers, according to the Guam Department of Labor and local reporting.

In the same time period, the number of H-2B workers on the island fell from 437 to just 35. This reflects the federal government practice of denying nearly all H-2B applications to the island after 2015.



13.
The Senate Immigration Debate: Let the Wild Rumpus Begin!
By Dan Cadman
CIS Blog, February 12, 2018
https://www.cis.org/Cadman/Senate-Immigration-Debate-Let-Wild-Rumpus-Begin

Excerpt: That's the reason the Senate has been unable to pass a permanent fiscal budget, has been unable to arrive at agreement on the outlines of an immigration bill, and why allegedly fiscally conservative Republicans agreed to raise the debt ceiling in order to buy themselves another couple of weeks on a CR once again, although it does include two full years' worth of funding for the military, emergency management, and domestic entitlement spending, while leaving the rest of the federal government at risk.


14.
An Anti-Sanctuary Bill that Doesn't Quite Get to the Goal Line
By Dan Cadman

CIS Blog, February 11, 2018
https://www.cis.org/Cadman/AntiSanctuary-Bill-Doesnt-Quite-Get-Goal-Line

Excerpt: The way to fix the unacceptably delimiting flaw is to add one more section to the representative's bill, which amends the existing language of INA Sec. 287(d)(1) so as to strike the phrase "for violation of controlled substance laws" contained in the header in bold text, and do the same for the similar phrase "relating to controlled substances" contained in the substantive portion of the follow-on sentence.

Simple enough. But until that happens, this bill just won't reach the goal line.



15.
Use and Misuse of the 'U' Visa for Alien Victims of Crime
By Dan Cadman

CIS Blog, February 11, 2018
https://www.cis.org/Cadman/Use-and-Misuse-U-Visa-Alien-Victims-Crime

Excerpt: Such an assertion is baseless; the requirement is there to ensure at least some measure of integrity in the process. Should the federal government grant crime-victim visas to aliens based simply on their, or their paid private attorneys', say-so, rather than that of the police and prosecutors involved?

In fact, despite the requirement, the very fact that the applications are so oversubscribed, as compared with their yearly cap, suggests that police and prosecutors are, if anything, overly lenient when showing their amenability to sign off on requests for the visas. The problem is in the way the statute has been written.


16.
The Chilling Effect of California's

'Immigrant Worker Protection Act' (But an

Opportunity for ICE)

By Andrew Arthur
CIS Blog, February 10, 2018
https://www.cis.org/Arthur/Chilling-Effect-Californias-Immigrant-Worker-Protection-Act-Opportunity-ICE

Excerpt:Fear of apprehension is the strongest force multiplier in law enforcement. While the word "raid" may bring out immigration activists, it also deters illegal entry and forces those here illegally to fear arrest. The threat of such actions is likely more effective than the employer-sanctions system itself.

This is not to say that ICE was leveraging the Immigrant Worker Protection Act in issuing those 77 NOIs. If it was, however, kudos to the agency.

The more NOIs that ICE issues in California (and the more indignant and erroneous press that they get), the more that the sense of California as a "sanctuary" state will be shattered. It is ironic that the California state legislature and its attorney general could be inadvertently assisting in this effort, and on driving employers to E-Verify.


17.
What If They Held a Faux-Filibuster and

Nobody Came?

By Andrew Arthur
CIS Blog, February 8, 2018
https://www.cis.org/Arthur/What-If-They-Held-FauxFilibuster-and-Nobody-Came

Excerpt: Filibusters (even faux ones) are supposed to stop legislation, not promote it. And DACA has already seen its fair share of overheated posturing, in particular from the minority leader. She has already attacked the president's DACA proposal as "trash", and asserted that the plan was a "campaign to make America white again." It is difficult to see how any of this is advancing Leader Pelosi's party or her cause.



18.
Mark Krikorian Discusses DACA's Future
FOX News, February 16, 2018

Video: https://cis.org/Mark-Krikorian-Discusses-DACAs-Future


19.
Immigration Brief: An Immigration Enforcement Plan
By Kent Lundgren and Bryan Griffith
February 14, 2018

Video: https://www.cis.org/Immigration-Brief/Immigration-Enforcement-Plan


20.
Immigration Brief: The DACA Negotiation
By Jan Ting and Bryan Griffith
February 12, 2018

Video: https://cis.org/Immigration-Brief/Immigration-Brief-DACA-Negotiation

The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit, research organization. Since our founding in 1985, we have pursued a single mission – providing immigration policymakers, the academic community, news media, and concerned citizens with reliable information about the social, economic, environmental, security, and fiscal consequences of legal and illegal immigration into the United States.

Read more about the Center for Immigration Studies.




DOJ: Mexican National Allegedly Led ‘Significant Drug-Trafficking Organization’ in U.S.



By CNSNews.com Staff | February 21, 2018 | 9:54 AM EST
This shipment of methamphetamine, which had been hidden in a shipment of commercial candles, was confiscated by Customs and Border Protection at the Laredo, Texas, port of entry on the U.S.-Mexico border. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection photo)
(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Justice Department says that a Mexican national allegedly led what it calls a “significant drug trafficking organization” inside the United States.
In an indictment filed last July, according to Justice, the 34-year-old Mexican national, Jose Raul Mendivil-Berrelleza, was charged in New Mexico along with seven others for trafficking methamphetamine and cocaine.
“The indictment was the result of a multi-agency investigation into a significant drug trafficking organization allegedly led by Jose Raul Mendivil-Berrelleza, 34, a Mexican national who resided in Hobbs, [N.M.] that allegedly imported methamphetamine and cocaine into Lea County from Mexico through Arizona,” the department said in a statement released yesterday.
“The 20-count indictment charged alleged ringleader Mendivil-Berrelleza and seven co-defendants with conspiracy, methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking, and money laundering offenses,” said the Justice Department. 
“Count 1 of the indictment charged all eight defendants with participating in a conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine and cocaine in Lea County and elsewhere between Nov. 2016 and July 2017,” the department said. “Count 2 charged Mendivil-Berrelleza and Roberto Rendon-Duran, 70, of Yuma, Ariz., with participating in an international money-laundering conspiracy.  Counts 3 through 5 charged certain defendants with methamphetamine trafficking offenses and Count 6 charges certain defendants with a cocaine trafficking offense.  Counts 7 through 20 charged certain defendants with using communications devices to facilitate their drug trafficking activity.”
One of the defendants in the case, Jeremy W. Gough, was sentenced on Tuesday to 120 months in prison.
“On Dec. 13, 2017, Gough pled guilty to conspiracy and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute,” said the Department of Justice. “ In entering the guilty plea, Gough admitted that from Nov. 2016 through June 2017, he conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine in Hobbs by having methamphetamine delivered to Gough’s residence from his source of supply, which Gough would then deliver to other individuals in Hobbs through the use of couriers.”
Here is the full statement on the case released by the Department of Justice on Tuesday:
Hobbs Man Sentenced to Ten Years for Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking Conviction
ALBUQUERQUE – Jeremy W. Gough, 41, of Hobbs, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 120 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.
Gough and seven other residents of Lea County, N.M., including four Mexican nationals, and a resident of Yuma, Ariz., were charged in a 20-count indictment filed in July 2017, alleging federal drug trafficking and money laundering offenses.  The indictment was the result of a multi-agency investigation into a significant drug trafficking organization allegedly led by Jose Raul Mendivil-Berrelleza, 34, a Mexican national who resided in Hobbs, that allegedly imported methamphetamine and cocaine into Lea County from Mexico through Arizona. 
The  investigation, which was led by the DEA and included HSI and the Lea County Drug Task Force of HIDTA Region 6, was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, a Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations.  During the course of the investigation, law enforcement authorities seized approximately 13 kilograms (28.6 pounds) of pure methamphetamine and 1.45 kilograms (3.2 pounds) of cocaine, a firearm and $19,000 in cash.
The 20-count indictment charged alleged ringleader Mendivil-Berrelleza and seven co-defendants with conspiracy, methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking, and money laundering offenses.  Count 1 of the indictment charged all eight defendants with participating in a conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine and cocaine in Lea County and elsewhere between Nov. 2016 and July 2017.  Count 2 charged Mendivil-Berrelleza and Roberto Rendon-Duran, 70, of Yuma, Ariz., with participating in an international money-laundering conspiracy.  Counts 3 through 5 charged certain defendants with methamphetamine trafficking offenses and Count 6 charges certain defendants with a cocaine trafficking offense.  Counts 7 through 20 charged certain defendants with using communications devices to facilitate their drug trafficking activity.
On Dec. 13, 2017, Gough pled guilty to conspiracy and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  In entering the guilty plea, Gough admitted that from Nov. 2016 through June 2017, he conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine in Hobbs by having methamphetamine delivered to Gough’s residence from his source of supply, which Gough would then deliver to other individuals in Hobbs through the use of couriers.  Gough further admitted that on Nov. 5, 2016, he possessed approximately 152 grams of methamphetamine which he intended to sell to other individuals in Hobbs.
Four of Gough’s co-defendants have previously entered guilty pleas and are pending sentencing hearings.  Two co-defendants have entered pleas of not guilty and are pending trial.  Miguel Angel Luna-Arredondo has yet to be arrested and is considered a fugitive.  Charges in indictments and criminal complaints are only accusations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the DEA and HSI offices in Las Cruces and the Lea County Drug Task Force with assistance from the Lea County Sheriff’s Office and the Hobbs Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Terri J. Abernathy and Dustin Segovia of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office are prosecuting the case.
The Lea County Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Lea County Sheriff’s Office, Hobbs Police Department, Lovington Police Department, Eunice Police Department the Tatum Police Department and the Jal Police Department, and is part of the NM HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force.  The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.  HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing. 

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