The Washington Times
SAN DIEGO — Handcuffed and shackled with their pockets pulled inside out, more than 150 illegal aliens are loaded onto an airplane every night, bound for detention centers in the United States to await deportation orders to their home countries.
Searched by a cadre of uniformed federal agents and encircled by heavily armed officers, they are herded off buses in the dead of night on an isolated tarmac at San Diego International Airport, where they silently shuffle single file on board a waiting MD-82 jetliner.
Some never have been on an airplane. Others have made the trip before. Many will be back.
A monthlong investigation by The Washington Times found that a shortage of detention space and lack of manpower force federal authorities to regularly release illegal aliens back on the streets of America — and often to ignore requests to pick up illegals in the custody of state and local officials.
"There's no question we need more detention space, more people and more equipment to get the job done," said J. Michael Vaughn, a detention and deportation supervisor for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles. His processing center handles between 3,000 and 4,500 illegals a month.
Posted by Suzanne at July 21, 2004