by Mark Spivak
“I look forward to it.”
“And now I’ll let you get back to the important work of cleaning up our campaign finance system.”
“Thanks for calling, sir, and have a good day.”
President Atalas to Address Nation Tonight on Immigration Crisis
July 1: President Khaleem Atalas will deliver a speech tonight from the East Room of the White House on the deepening crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border.
It will be the President’s first official comment on the wave of illegal immigrants who have been arrested in the past several months. As of this morning, estimates on the number of detainees ranged between 28,000 and 30,000. Atalas has come under fire from critics for his hesitation in responding to the problem more quickly.
The intensified immigration sweep began in mid-April, when members of a group called the Angels of Democracy began assisting U.S. Border Patrol agents at five locations in California and Texas. The detainees were transferred to county jails, creating an atmosphere that rapidly became dangerous, unsanitary and violent. At least one inmate has died in custody, and hundreds more have been injured in fights.
When he returned from the G-8 summit in Brussels on June 22, the President indicated that he wanted the detainees to receive hearings before being deported. In remarks to reporters, he stated that the immigrants were entitled to due process and noted that some or many of the immigrants may be asylum seekers who would face grave consequences if they were returned to Mexico. Despite that assertion, only 279 hearings have been scheduled thus far.
Little is known about the Angels of Democracy, the group that initiated the increased arrests. Prior to April, it is believed that they were a fraternal organization headquartered in Southern California. Their leader, Jasper Marshall, apparently hired and trained nearly 2,000 agents who have been deployed to assist the Border Patrol. These individuals are equipped with vehicles and light weapons, although they do not carry firearms. In most cases they are simply detaining the individuals crossing the border until the authorities can arrive.
On Capitol Hill today, news of the President’s address was greeted with enthusiasm on both sides of the aisle.
“It’s about time the President had something to say about this,” said Sen. James Caldwell (R-Miss.). “I wonder if the entire population of Mexico would have to be hung up on the border before he announced some kind of plan to deal with it. We all know he doesn’t want to deport them but having 30,000 people sitting in county jails just isn’t good for anybody.”
Members of the President’s own party were considerably more upbeat.
“I look forward to hearing the President’s plan,” said Sen. Marcus Kaplan (D-NY), “and I applaud the reasoned and compassionate way he has approached this problem. I’m sure both he and his Cabinet have given the matter a great deal of thought, and I expect to hear sensible, concrete solutions.”
The speech will air at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and be carried by all three networks, along with a number of cable channels.
---Compiled from Washington Post staff reports
President Atalas walked down the long hallway toward the podium set up in the East Room of the White House.
“My fellow Americans,” he began. “Thank you for welcoming me into your homes tonight. I intend to speak to you this evening about a situation that is testing the core of our basic values, and one that I’m sure we can respond to with compassion.
“This evening, I know that many of you are busy making plans to celebrate the upcoming Fourth of July holiday. The Fourth means a great many things in our popular culture: time off from work, barbecues, fireworks, reunions with friends and family. But it also signifies the anniversary of winning our independence and commemorates a struggle in which this nation made untold sacrifices to win our freedom from England.
“But even as we honor that struggle three days from now, we need to be mindful that the liberties we take for granted are not enjoyed by a large part of the earth’s population. And nowhere is this more obvious than in Mexico, where many people are locked in a daily struggle just to survive. They face the same challenges we do in terms of raising their families, but they are often hampered by poverty and increasing drug-related violence.
“Over the years, as you know, millions of these folks have crossed the border into the United States in search of a better life. They have worked hard, paid taxes, had children, and become part of the fabric of life in this country. What they haven’t done, in many cases, is become citizens. And they haven’t done so because they were forced to enter this country illegally, and because the laws of the United States currently prevent them from attaining citizenship.
“I’m well aware that this is a source of controversy for many Americans. As you know, I have consistently advocated a path to citizenship for immigrants who work hard and play by the rules—those who pay taxes, have no criminal record, and who are making a significant contribution to our society. Some of you out there disagree with this position. To those people, I would say this: my ancestors came here as immigrants, and I would not be standing here today without the benefits of a compassionate America. I think most of you could say the same, if you were honest.
“I believe it is time for us to take the ten million illegal immigrants living in the United States and welcome them into the fabric of our country, just as you and I were welcomed in years past. Many of you will disagree, and I respect your right to your opinion. But at the end of the day, I also know that it is simply the right thing to do.
“Recently, as you’re probably aware, a situation has developed along the U.S.-Mexican border in parts of Southern California and Texas, and this is why I am addressing you tonight. For the past several months, a volunteer group called the Angels of Democracy has been assisting the Border Patrol in apprehending immigrants crossing illegally. The increased manpower has resulted in a heightened level of arrests, as many people who would normally have slipped through the cracks are now being detained. The detainees are being held in county jails along the border. Most of these jails are overcrowded, and conditions have become both unsanitary and dangerous.
“Let me first say a word about the Angels of Democracy, because some people have questioned why the federal government has not stopped their activities. They have been characterized as a paramilitary or militia group, which is not the case. The fact is they are citizens exercising some of the rights available to them, even though I happen to disagree with their activities. They make no pretense of having law enforcement powers, and they appear to be peacefully assisting the Border Patrol. I believe that what they’re doing is misguided and ill-advised, but they are nonetheless within the law.
“The question we are now faced with is what to do with the immigrants sitting in those county jails, who now number nearly 30,000. In making that determination, I believe we need to be guided by a moral compass as well as the contents of the penal code. So let me outline what my administration intends to do about this situation.
“First, we will create a safer and more humane environment in which to house these detainees while they await their deportation hearings. We are currently looking at different options for this, and my intention is to announce a plan to relocate the majority of the inmates within the next several weeks.
“Secondly, we intend to make sure that each and every detainee receives the due process guaranteed by the Constitution. We have no idea how many of them came here to seek asylum, and we also don’t know how many would be subject to danger and even death if they were abruptly returned to Mexico. I intend to make certain that every single one of them receives a hearing before they are deported, which is what the law stipulates. Commentators in the press have pointed out that very few hearings have been scheduled thus far, and they are correct—the sheer bulk of the arriving immigrants has overwhelmed a system designed to deal with a small fraction of the current population. In recent days, my ad
ministration has contacted dozens of retired judges who have agreed to donate their time to facilitate those hearings. Once again, we’re hopeful that we can begin that process soon.
“Beyond that, we have the nagging question of how we will deal with immigration going forward. This is far more than a political debate, or an argument over our deepest prejudices. It is a question that really goes to the heart of who we are as a people. When the current problem on the border is brought under control, as it will be, I intend to work with Congress to facilitate a process whereby we can bring the majority of those ten million immigrants out of the shadows and transform them into useful, productive citizens. I know that amnesty is a hot-button issue among many of our political constituencies, particularly among some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. I would remind those Senators and Congressmen that Ronald Reagan—one of our greatest recent Presidents and an icon of their own party—signed a bill nearly 20 years ago that allowed for a pathway to citizenship for the law-abiding immigrants in our midst.
“I have previously described immigration as one of the great moral challenges of our time, and I repeat that assertion tonight. I believe it is time to follow in President Reagan’s footsteps and extend the promise of America to those who have come here seeking it. We have the means to do this. The only question is whether we have the will.
“Thank you for your time tonight. I wish you a safe and happy Fourth of July. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.”
Chapter 27
The President’s speech was greeted with a distinct lack of enthusiasm, at least in the national press. In the immediate aftermath of his address, CNN convened the usual panel of pundits to dissect the details
“Let’s get some reaction from our experts,” said the anchor. “Keith Englehart, we’ll start with you. As an advisor to four different Presidents, both Republican and Democrat, how do you react to Khaleem Atalas’ remarks tonight?”
“Well, Kurt, the first thing you have to say is that he was very short on specifics. One thing we needed to hear from him is exactly how his administration plans to deal with these 30,000 people who are stacked up on the border. It’s one thing to talk about immigration reform and a path to citizenship, which segments of our population obviously have different reactions to, but the fact is that this situation is quickly becoming a humanitarian crisis of significant proportions.
“You also have to wonder, Kurt, how on earth he plans to process all these detainees and give them hearings in a reasonable period of time. The best estimates I’ve heard is that there are no more than 300 hearings scheduled at the moment, which obviously is 1 percent of the population currently sitting in these county jails. We all know how much time these things take to play out, even if you have retired judges to press into service.”
“If you were advising him, Keith, exactly what would you tell him to do?”
“I think I’d tell him, Kurt, that this is one of those situations where a crisp and clear plan of action—even if it turns out to be incorrect—is better than no action at all. Quite frankly, he needs to do something about this before it reaches the stage where it becomes unmanageable. The number of immigrants continues to grow, along with the public awareness of the crisis. People need to see the President take some decisive action on this before more detainees start dying in those jails.”
Conservative branches of the media were far more virulent. The next morning on Fox’s O’Neill Report, Bob O’Neill launched into a predictable diatribe to close his daily show:
“So last night,” said O’Neill, looking directly into the camera, “we heard the long-awaited speech from Khaleem Amnesty about the refugee crisis growing on our border with Mexico. If you were expecting to hear something definitive from the President about how he plans to get this crisis under control, you were once again disappointed. What we got, as usual, were a bunch of reassuring platitudes about the nobility of immigration.
“Those platitudes are little consolation to the tens of thousands of immigrants currently crammed into jail cells in places like Nogales and Brownsville. After crossing the border illegally into the land of opportunity, these poor people are now faced with conditions far worse than what they were forced to endure in Mexico. They’re living five and six to a cell in quarters designed for two, with toilets that don’t flush and fellow inmates who are waiting to knife them over a baloney sandwich. If they had their choice, I’m sure they would elect to return home immediately and take their chances with the drug lords of their native country.
“As usual, the President is incapable of action. He is so obsessively focused on how to naturalize these immigrants and have them vote Democratic in the next election that he doesn’t give a damn if they live or die. And as he observed last night, most of these people indeed came here to find a better life for themselves and their families—not to be used as pawns in some political scheme to pack the ballot box.
“The most galling thing for most of us, of course, is the President’s continued references to Ronald Reagan. While he’s correct that President Reagan signed a bill that granted a path to citizenship for law-abiding immigrants, he did it for humanitarian reasons, not political ones. And he was a man of action, not indecision. Khaleem Atalas couldn’t tie Ronald Reagan’s shoes: not because he wouldn’t know how to do it, but because he lacks the ability to make a decision on the best knot to use.”
Perhaps the most succinct comment on the speech was delivered by Bull Caldwell, when a network anchor stuck a microphone in his face outside the Senate chamber.
“Well, the President’s been sayin’ for a while now that he wants to do somethin’ about immigration. Looks like he’s finally got his chance.”
Public Interest Group Offers Dramatic Solution for
Immigrant Detainees
Proposes Housing Refugees in Tent Cities
By Peter Schoenfeld
July 12: Special to The Washington Post
In a sudden and unexpected turn of events, a non-profit organization called Citizens for a Concerned America (CCA) has volunteered the use of three tent cities to house the flood of immigrants sitting in jails along the Mexican border.
Little is known about CCA, which describes itself as a non-profit citizen’s group committed to improving conditions for minority and underprivileged individuals around the country. Within the past year they have constructed three compounds in the southern parts of California and Texas. According to Lester Bodenstein, the group’s President, the compounds were originally built to be used as summer camps for urban children.
“The term tent cities is really a misnomer,” said Bodenstein. “The buildings in these camps are actually made of corrugated aluminum, and the facilities are complete. In addition to bunk houses, they have kitchens, bathrooms, showers and all the comforts of home.”
If his offer is accepted, moving the immigrants to these compounds would help alleviate overcrowding in the county jails, at least temporarily. The camps were built to hold between 8,000 and 10,000 people each, and Bodenstein indicated that they could be easily expanded to accommodate more. As of yesterday, there were an estimated 40,000 detainees held in county jails near the border.
The refugee crisis has been intensifying since mid-April, when an enhanced security sweep by the U.S. Border Patrol resulted in the capture of individuals who would normally have crossed the border without detection. A group called the Angels of Democracy has been assisting the authorities in that effort. The flood of detainees has resulted in severely overcrowded conditions in the county jails, as immigrants have piled up while awaiting deportation hearings.
“Our original plan was to use these facilities as summer camps for kids in urban ghettos,” said Bodenstein. “We wanted to give them a sense of what life was like beyond the boundaries of their home turf, which is often violent and dangerous. It was our hope that providing an alternative for these children wou
ld inspire them to break out of the pattern of crime and failure that afflicts many of our youth in the nation’s cities.
“However, when we saw what was happening along the Mexican border, we realized that we had to do something to help the detainees escape from the situation they’re currently in. We’re still committed to helping underprivileged children. We’ll find some other way to do that in the short term, and we expect to be able to use these camps next summer for their intended purpose. In the meantime, this is the area of greatest need.”
The CCA’s offer was conveyed yesterday to the Governors of Texas and California, who deferred the situation to federal authorities for approval. Spokesmen for the Atalas administration have expressed cautious enthusiasm for the proposal and are currently investigating it.
Ironically, the offer from CCA comes at a time when public concern has been mounting over the refugee crisis. In his address to the nation nearly two weeks ago, the President announced that his administration was working on proposals to relieve the overcrowding, and he promised that he would announce his ideas shortly. No plans have been forthcoming thus far.
Initial research on the CCA reveal that they are a 501c group chartered in the state of Delaware. The sources of their funding are not clear, although Bodenstein claims that the bulk of their operating budget comes in the form of small donations from civic-minded individuals.
“I just wish somebody could tell me what the hell is going on here,” said Khaleem Atalas, staring at his vice president.
“What does the FBI say?”
“They don’t know shit.” The President leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “I’ve called the Director every day for the past week. They’re clueless. They say they’re looking into the Citizens for a Concerned America, but they can’t figure out who’s behind it.”
