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ICE Starts Victims' Telephone Program

By Jeralyn, Section Civil Liberties
Posted on Thu Apr 27, 2017 at 02:13:06 PM EST
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The latest appalling action by ICE: Check out its "Voice Program", announced yesterday. It stands for "Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office." There's even a VINE feature to help anyone track find and track undocumented persons who have been convicted of a crime.

ICE also says this is just a beginning. It is going to be also expanding services to allow the agency "to collect metrics and information." On whom? The victims or the perpetrators? Or both?

It uses deprecated terms like "illegal" to refer to undocumented persons.

My view: This program is an unacceptable use of federal resources that highlights the shameful bigotry in the Trump Administration's agenda.

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    ICE Starts Victims' Telephone Program | 9 comments (9 topical)

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    I can understand how tracking deportable aliens (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by Peter G on Thu Apr 27, 2017 at 03:10:12 PM EST
    is within the statutory authority of ICE, even if the Administration's enforcement priorities are misguided in my view. But I cannot fathom how "engagement" with "victims" of "criminal aliens" is any part of ICE's mission. The office for services to crime victims is in the Department of Justice, not the Department of Homeland Security. To me, this "VOICE" program is a propaganda mission, and thus not a proper expenditure of appropriated funds.

    Apparently, some people... (5.00 / 1) (#8)
    by desertswine on Thu Apr 27, 2017 at 07:09:35 PM EST
    are using the hotline to report UFO sightings (you know, Aliens), bigfoot sightings, and making reports of muggles in the area.

    Illegal (none / 0) (#2)
    by Abdul Abulbul Amir on Thu Apr 27, 2017 at 03:21:56 PM EST
    Just what is wrong using the term "illegal" to describe someone that has entered the country illegally?

    Do we call people... (5.00 / 3) (#3)
    by kdog on Thu Apr 27, 2017 at 03:28:33 PM EST
    who drive 60 in a 55 "illegals"?  

    Do we call the founder of Trump University an "illegal"?

    Parent

    Agreed. (none / 0) (#6)
    by KeysDan on Thu Apr 27, 2017 at 05:18:54 PM EST
    We can evaluate people's actions, but as humans, we can not judge them.

    Parent
    I mean come on Man... (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by kdog on Thu Apr 27, 2017 at 03:30:34 PM EST
    even dopey Ayn Rand understands this, and I quote...

    "There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws."

    Parent

    you should already know the answer (5.00 / 2) (#7)
    by Jeralyn on Thu Apr 27, 2017 at 05:47:11 PM EST
    a persons actions may be illegal but that doesn't make them illegal.  Even if their status in the U.S. is unlawful, it is unacceptable to refer to them as illegal.

    This is not up for debate on this site. Any comment referring to an undocumented person or any other person as "illegal" or arguing the use of the term is proper will be deleted.  This has been the policy of this site for a decade or more.

    The associated press announced it would not use the term in 2013. Here's why.

    Parent

    How about we grant the Right of Return (none / 0) (#5)
    by jondee on Thu Apr 27, 2017 at 04:03:07 PM EST
    and just restitution to the Choctaw, Cherokee, and Creeks et al and then maybe we can start talking about Illegal Aliens.

    My cynical take on this VOICE Program... (none / 0) (#9)
    by Aspidistra on Sat Apr 29, 2017 at 09:35:21 AM EST
    ...is that it is a fishing expedition to help the Administration find photogenic crime victims to present to the media to help their case for greater immigration enforcement.

    My non-cynical take is that some families might get some help with notifications that they might not have otherwise known how to sign up for.

    ICE Starts Victims' Telephone Program | 9 comments (9 topical)

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