From: Michael Cutler <MCutler007@aol.com>

Date: January 6, 2011 2:12:06 PM PST

To: Michael Cutler <Mcutler007@aol.com>

Subject: I was interviewed: Fox News: “Judge Orders U.S. to Supply Mentally Deficient Illegal Immigrants With Lawyers to Fight Deportation”

Hi Gang:

I was recently interviewed by the Diane Macedo, the reporter for Fox News who wrote the news report I have provided you below.  The issue of the report is a court decision that may ultimate set a legal precedent that would require the federal government to provide free legal counsel to aliens facing removal (deportation) based on mental incapacity.

While I certainly believe in fairness I am absolutely flummoxed at the court decision!

Please read the news article and take note of my comments that reflect my concerns about what I believe is a wrong-headed decision.  While Diane Macedo did an excellent job of providing you with the concerns I voiced to her when she interviewed me, I want to go into a bit more detail in my commentary today that the article did not have enough space to provide.

I want to start out by reminding you about the legal grounds by which an alien is to be excluded from the United States or removed (deported) after having gained entry either via the inspections process or by running our nation’s borders includes clear reference to aliens who suffer from mental illness- particularly if the sort of mental illness that the alien is afflicted with causes him (her) to pose a threat to the safety of others.  In fact the law states that an alien should be excluded if the alien has:

 …a
physical or mental disorder and behavior associated with the disorder
that may pose, or has posed, a threat to the property, safety, or
welfare of the alien or others, or has had a physical or mental
disorder and a history of behavior associated with the disorder,
which behavior has posed a threat to the property, safety, or welfare
of the alien or others and which behavior is likely to recur or to
lead to other harmful behavior….

You can find the exact wording in context by going to the website provided by the United States Department of State and check out Section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/ineligibilities/ineligibilities_1364.html

Section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act reads:

(a)
Classes of Aliens Ineligible for Visas or Admission.-Except as
otherwise provided in this Act, aliens who are inadmissible
under the following paragraphs are ineligible to
receive visas and ineligible to be admitted to the United States:

    (1) Health-related grounds.-

        (A) In general.-Any alien-

            (i)
who is determined (in accordance with regulations prescribed by the
Secretary of Health and Human Services)
to have a communicable disease of public health
significance, which shall include infection with the etiologic agent for
acquired
immune deficiency syndrome,

            (ii)
except as provided in subparagraph (C) who seeks admission as an
immigrant, or who seeks adjustment of status
to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for
permanent residence, and who has failed to present documentation of
having
received vaccination against vaccine-preventable
diseases, which shall include at least the following diseases: mumps,
measles,
rubella, polio, tetanus and diphtheria toxoids,
pertussis, influenza type B and hepatitis B, and any other vaccinations
against
vaccine-preventable diseases recommended by the
Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices,

            (iii) who is determined (in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services
in consultation with the Attorney General)-

                (I) to have a physical or mental disorder and behavior associated with the disorder that may pose, or has
posed, a threat to the property, safety, or welfare of the alien or others, or

                (II)
to have had a physical or mental disorder and a history of behavior
associated with the disorder, which
behavior has posed a threat to the property,
safety, or welfare of the alien or others and which behavior is likely
to recur
or to lead to other harmful behavior, or

            (iv) who is determined (in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services)
to be a drug abuser or addict, is inadmissible.

Clearly the alien cited in the article demonstrated beyond any doubt that he suffers mental illness and because of it, poses a threat to public safety!

Why on earth would anyone be supportive of the idea that aliens who suffer serious mental illness should be provided with free legal counsel when it would appear that the best interests of our nation and members of our communities would be best served by not having these guys walking the streets of our cities?

WIKIPEDIA, provides a definition for “Reckless Endangerment” that I think is worth considering:

Reckless endangerment: A person commits the crime of reckless
endangerment if the person recklessly engages in conduct which creates a
substantial risk of serious physical injury to another person.
“Reckless” conduct is conduct that exhibits a culpable disregard of
foreseeable consequences to others from the act or omission involved.
The accused need not intentionally cause a resulting harm or know that
his conduct is substantially certain to cause that result. The ultimate
question is whether, under all the circumstances, the accused’s conduct
was of that heedless nature that made it actually or imminently
dangerous to the rights or safety of others.

Could you not make a case for the premise that our own government is guilty of recklessly endangering the lives of citizens and others who live in the United States by not doing what is necessary and reasonable to keep dangerous aliens out of our country and seeking aggressively to remove those who are already present within our nation’s borders?

We continually hear about how advocates for illegal aliens want to help meet the needs of the families of the illegal aliens.  At what point will the needs of our citizens and our nation be the priority?

Even in considering the wishes of the families of illegal aliens- think of how many people are killed by close friends or family members.  There is an old saying, “Be careful what you wish for- you may get it!”  Consider the following sentence from the article:

Franco,
an illegal immigrant from Mexico, comes from a family of U.S.
citizens and legal residents and was on his way to obtaining legal
resident status when he pleaded guilty in April 2005 to assault with
a deadly weapon, according to the
complaint.

If you had a relative who suffered from mental illness and pleaded guilty to committing an assault with a deadly weapon- would you sleep well at night if this relative was sleeping in your guest room or on the couch in your home?  The point is that as I noted during my interview- the immigration laws of the United States are supposed to prevent the entry of aliens into our country whose presence is problematic.  Foreign nationals do not have an inherent right to enter our country or to remain in our country unless they have the lawful right to be here.  It is interesting to note that when I served as an Immigration Inspector we made a clear distinction between the process of admitting United States citizens into the United States as compared with aliens.  Aliens were inspected while citizens were examined.  There was more than semantics involved in this use of language- the point was that aliens had to make an application to seek entry into the United States and the inspector made the decision as to whether or not to admit the alien, while citizens needed to only prove to the satisfaction of the inspector that they were citizens.  Citizens who were able to establish that they are citizens of the United States can not be denied entry into the United States.

There are many reasons why it is of critical importance that the language that we use make the distinctions between those who are citizens and those who are not be crystal clear and unambiguous.  This is far more than an academic distinction.  Citizenship is of huge importance and this is yet another reason I become disgusted when I hear our nation’s “leaders” offer to provide millions of illegal aliens with a “pathway to United States citizenship” and thus water down the real significance of citizenship!

We the People refers to the citizens of the United States and it is the best interest of the citizens of our nation that must come first!

I

f 

our country is to survive and if our children and their children are to get their share of the “American Dream” the citizens of this nation must take their citizenship seriously!

We the People must be the best citizens we can be, citizens who are worthy of the gallantry demonstrated by our valiant men and women in the military, law enforcement and firefighters, who routinely go in harm’s way in defense of this nation and our citizens.  

This must be our New Year’s resolution!

My goal in writing this and other commentaries is to point out our nations many failings before more victims pay the ultimate price for the incompetence and ineptitude of our government.

The first step in problem-solving is to first identify the problems and vulnerabilities and then devise strategies to overcome them.

If you find yourself to be in agreement with this commentary, I ask that you forward it to as many of your friends and family members as possible and encourage them to do the same.  We need to create a “Bucket Brigade of Truth!”

The practice of good citizenship does not end in the voting booth, it only begins there.

The large scale apathy demonstrated by citizens of this nation has emboldened elected representatives to all but ignore the needs of the average American citizen in a quest for massive campaign funds and the promises of votes to be ostensibly delivered by special interest groups. There is much that we cannot do but there is one thing that We the People absolutely must do- we must stop sitting on the sidelines!

The collective failure of We the People to get involved in make our concerns known to our politicians have nearly made the concerns of the great majority of the citizens of this nation all but irrelevant to the politicians.  I implore you to resolve this year to get involved!

If this situation concerns you or especially if it angers you, I ask you to call your Senators and Congressional “Representative. This is not only your right- it is your obligation! 

All I ask is that you make it clear to our politicians that we are not as dumb as they hope we are!

We live in a perilous world and in a perilous era. The survival of our nation and the lives of our citizens hang in the balance.

This is neither a Conservative issue, nor is it a Liberal issue- simply stated, this is most certainly an AMERICAN issue!

You are either part of the solution or you are a part of the problem!

Democracy is not a spectator sport!

Lead, follow or get out of the way!

-michael cutler- 

Please check out my website:

https://www.michaelcutler.net/

 

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/01/05/judge-orders-supply-mentally-deficient-illegal-immigrants-lawyers-fight/

Judge Orders U.S. to Supply Mentally Deficient Illegal Immigrants With Lawyers to Fight Deportation

By Diane Macedo

Published January 05, 2011 | FoxNews.com

A federal judge’s ruling could pave the way for
taxpayer-funded legal representation for immigrants facing deportation
in cases of mental incapacity — a move praised by civil libertarians
but opposed by advocates of stricter immigration enforcement.

U.S. District Court Judge Dolly Gee recently ordered the U.S.
government to give two mentally incapacitated illegal immigrants legal
representation to fight their deportations. The decision was triggered
by the case of Jose Franco-Gonzalez, 30, who spent nearly five years in
immigration custody after pleading guilty to assault with a deadly
weapon because authorities determined he was too mentally incompetent to
represent himself in his own deportation hearings. Traditionally public
counsel is not supplied in U.S. deportation cases

Gee ruled that Franco and another plaintiff be released and that
additional plaintiffs in the case be given representation for their
hearings, pleasing supporters who say the decision is a first step in
ensuring that the rights of the mentally ill are not ignored.

But critics say the decision inappropriately places a new financial
burden on American taxpayers and ignores the risk of keeping sometimes
dangerous immigrants in the U.S.

Franco, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, comes from a family of U.S.
citizens and legal residents and was on his way to obtaining legal
resident status when he pleaded guilty in April 2005 to assault with a
deadly weapon, according to the complaint.

The government moved to deport him, but an immigration judge ordered
the proceedings be closed based on Franco’s diagnosed moderate mental
retardation and inability to represent himself.

Even so, Franco remained in immigration custody for four and a half
years without having a hearing on his detention until December 2009, the
complaint says. He was released in March 2010, three days after the
ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of him and five other plaintiffs with
similar cases.

Click here to read the complaint with information on Franco and other plaintiffs.

“These are individuals who get lost in the system because of their
serious mental illnesses. Many of them suffer from hallucinations, many
of them suffer from paranoia caused by their hallucinations and they’re
just simply incapacitated and unable to represent themselves,” Michael
Steinberg, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, told FoxNews.com.

But retired Immigration and Naturalization Service senior agent
Michael Cutler says it’s not the government’s responsibility to provide
legal defense for aliens who face removal from the United States.

“We are under extreme economic difficulties right now,” Cutler told
FoxNews.com. “For this court to create a legal precedence where aliens
would be entitled to get lawyers fees paid for by the government when
it’s very likely, based on what these people were involved with, that
they’re never going to be really productive members of our society,
flies in the face of what’s in the best interest for America and
Americans.”

Cutler says judges need to remember why we have immigration laws.

“The fundamental reason for immigration laws is to keep aliens out of
our country or remove aliens from our country whose presence is harmful
to our nation and/or our citizens. We have people involved with mental
illness and prone to fits of violence based on mental illness — where’s
the positive impact this has on America?” he said. “The idea that we
want to be compassionate is misplaced if one of these guys goes off and
injures someone or worse.”

Steinberg says regardless of their mental states the immigrants in
question, some of them legal, may have meritorious defenses and have a
right to have those defenses heard.

“They may be actually able to stay here, and I think any society is
judged by how they treat those who are without ability to help
themselves,” he said.

Steinberg says he and his colleagues plan to file a motion “promptly”
to transform the case into a class-action suit so that it will pertain
to all detainees with mental disabilities.

Charles Miller, spokesperson for the Civil Division of the Department
of Justice, said the department couldn’t comment on the case “because
it’s an ongoing matter right now.”

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/01/05/judge-orders-supply-mentally-deficient-illegal-immigrants-lawyers-fight/#ixzz1AEhfO1Nx