Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/313716
ByAliciaA.Caldwell The Associated Press WASHINGTON TheHome- land Security Depart- ment released 36,007 convicted criminal im- migrants last year who are facing deportation, including those account- ing for 193 homicide and 426 sexual assault con- victions, according to new federal data. The immigrants re- leased had completed their criminal jail sen- tences and nearly all still face deportation and are required to check in with immigration authorities while their deportation cases are pending. The data from U.S. Im- migrations and Customs Enforcement were first disclosed by the Center for Immigration Stud- ies, a conservative group that advocates for less im- migration. In its own re- port, the group said "the vast majority of these re- leases from ICE custody were discretionary, not re- quired by law ... nor the re- sult of local sanctuary pol- icies." It did not describe how many immigrants ICE decided on its own to release and how many a judge ordered to be re- leased. An ICE spokeswoman, Barbara Gonzalez, said Friday that in many cases cited in the report the agency was required by law to release the immi- grants while their depor- tation cases are pending. "The releases required by court decisions ac- count for a dispropor- tionate number of the se- rious crimes listed in the report," she said. Gonza- lez said, for example, that mandatory releases ac- count for over 72 percent of the immigrants con- victed of homicide. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and his predecessor Ja- net Napolitano have re- peatedly said that deport- ing those immigrants who pose a threat to national security or public safety is Homeland Security's top priority. And ICE has routinely touted increases in the number of convicted criminals removed annu- ally. Last year, the agency said 59 percent of the 368,644 people removed had been previously con- victed of a crime. But the releases that weren't mandated by law, including 28 percent of the immigrants with homicide convictions, undermines the government's argu- ment that it uses its de- clining resources for im- migration enforcement to find and jail serious crim- inal immigrants who may pose a threat to public safety or national security. Details of how many criminal immigrants were released in the last year come amid a months-long review of the Obama ad- ministration's deportation policies by Johnson. Johnson has not said when he expects that re- view to conclude, but in an interview Thursday with PBS' "NewsHour" program he did say a pro- gram used to identify po- tentially deportable immi- grants in local jails needs a "fresh start." The Secure Communities program has been widely criticized by immigration advocates who said it too often swept up immigrants accused of only traffic violations or other minor offenses. Republican lawmakers decried the releases as evidence the Obama ad- ministration is not fulfill- ing its duty in immigration enforcement. In a joint statement, Republican Reps. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, chairman of the House Judiciary Commit- tee, and Lamar Smith of Texas, said the disclosure was "incredibly alarming" "Most could be detained by immigration enforce- ment authorities if the administration had the will to do so," they said. "These criminals should be locked up, not roaming our streets." IMMIGRATION Data: DHS freed thousands of criminals By George Jahn The Associated Press VIENNA Iran nuclear talks stalled Friday, cast- ing a shadow on earlier advances and denting hopes that Tehran and six world powers will meet a July 20 target date for a deal meant to curb Iran's atomic program while ending sanctions on the Islamic Republic. Deputy Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged the meet- ing made "no progress" in its ambitious goal of start- ing to draft an agreement meant to ease a decade of Western distrust about Tehran's nuclear agenda in exchange for sanctions relief. In that, "we failed," he told reporters. But while saying he was disap- pointed, he insisted that the result of the three- day talks that ended Fri- day represented no more than a setback at this point in continuing attempts to reach a deal. A senior U.S. official — who demanded anonym- ity under U.S. briefing rules — said there was "great difficulty" in try- ing to move toward com- mon positions and spoke of "significant" differences. BothAraghchiandthe offi- cial said further meetings were planned in June, but no dates were announced. The failure to advance diminished a sense of opti- mism that had been grow- ing since talks began Feb. 18 on a comprehensive deal. But while diplomats had spoken of some prog- ress before the three-day round that ended Friday, they had also warned of difficult talks ahead on some issues, such as Iran's enrichment program. Iran says it has no inter- est in nuclear arms, and wants to enrich only to make reactor fuel. But be- cause the technology can also create weapons-grade uranium for warheads de- pending on the level of en- richment, Washington and its allies want strict con- straints on its size and scope. The talks are being closely watched by Israel for signs that Tehran is us- ing them as a cover while trying to reach the ability to make a nuclear weapon — something the Jewish state has vowed to pre- vent by any means, includ- ing force. While saying diplomacy is the best path, Washing- ton has said all options re- mainonthetabletoprevent anuclear-armedIran.InJe- rusalem Friday, U.S. De- fense Secretary Chuck Ha- gel told Israeli leaders that the U.S. "will do what we must" to ensure that goal. Araghchi said that dif- ferences remained on more than a dozen issues and a Western official with detailed knowledge of the talks said that enrichment was among the most divi- sive topic. The official declined to go into the specifics of what separated the two sides on enrichment and demanded anonymity because he wasn't authorized to dis- cuss the confidential talks. But general differences have long been known. Iran's nuclear chief, Ali Ak- barSalehi,hassaidpublicly that Tehran needs up to 100,000 centrifuges — the enrichingmachines—fora future nuclear network. That's about five times as many as the centrifuges Iran now has standing but idle, 10 times that of the machines actually enrich- ing — and much more than the few thousand that dip- lomats say the U.S. and its alliesarepreparedtoallow. Related differences fo- cusonlengthofconstraints on enrichment and other nuclear activities that could be proliferation-rel- evant. The diplomats say the U.S. and other West- ern countries want de- cade-long limits, whereas Tehran is pushing only for a few years before all re- strictions are lifted. IRAN Nuke talks round ends with big setbacks AJITSOLANKI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Indians walk past a bus with a photograph of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Thursday. By Muneeza Naqvi The Associated Press NEW DELHI India's opposi- tion leader, Narendra Modi, will become the next prime minister of the world's larg- est democracy, winning the most decisive election vic- tory the country has seen in three decades and sweeping the long-dominant Congress party from power. Modi, a career politician whose campaign promised a revival of economic growth, will have a strong mandate to govern at a time of profound changes in Indian society. He also has said he wants to strengthen India's strategic partnership with the United States. But critics worry the ascendance of his Hindu na- tionalist party could worsen sectarian tensions with In- dia'sminority138millionMus- lims. The results were a crush- ing defeat for the Congress party, which is deeply en- twined with the Nehru-Gan- dhi political dynasty that has been at the center of Indian politics for most of the coun- try's post-independence his- tory. The party, led by outgo- ing Prime Minister Manmo- han Singh, has been plagued by repeated corruption scan- dals and a poor economy. As his overwhelming win became clear Friday, Modi appeared before a crowd of cheeringsupportersandtried to strike a conciliatory note. "I have always said that to govern the nation it is our re- sponsibility to take everyone with us," Modi said after a lengthy and punishing race. "I want your blessings so that wecanrunagovernmentthat carries everyone with it." Nevertheless, Modi re- mains a divisive figure in the countryof1.2billionpeople,in largepartbecausehe,aschief ministerofGujaratstate,was in command in 2002 when communalriotingtherekilled more than 1,000 people — most of them Muslims. Modi was accused of do- ing little to stop the rampage, though he denies any wrong- doing and has never been chargedwithacrime.Hewas denied a U.S. visa in 2005 for alleged complicity in the ri- ots, although as prime minis- ter he would be virtually as- sured a visa. In India, the question now is whether Modi can be a sec- ular leader in a multi-faith country. The Congress party tried to highlight the 2002 ri- ots during the campaign, but Modi's momentum — and fo- cus on the ailing economy — carried him to victory. Landslide win for opposition party INDIA ELECTION ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS An armed man of the Donbass Battalion, a non-affiliated militia group that has stated its intent to fight in support of Ukrainian unity, is on guard atop a storage tank with a sign "Flammable. Don't smoke" at their base in the village of Velyka Novosilka, near Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, on Friday. By Yuras Karmanau The Associated Press MARIUPOL,UKRAINE Steel- workers from plants owned by the country's richest man on Friday joined police on patrols to reverse the tide of lawlessness in this industrial port city. About 75 miles north of Mariupol, armed volun- teers dressed in black sta- tioned in a village just in- side the troubled Donetsk region say they intend to ex- pel their foes through force if necessary. The groups opposed to pro-Russian insurgents who have swept through eastern Ukraine have scored early successes, but threaten to open a new and dangerously unpredictable cycle of con- frontation. Government forces have in recent weeks achieved limited results in quashing the self-styled Donetsk and Luhansk "people's repub- lics" — armed formations that this week declared in- dependence for their re- gions following contentious referendums. That has handed the ini- tiative to forces acting in- dependently of authorities in the capital, Kiev. In Mariupol, the second- largestcityinUkraine'seast- ern Donetsk region, billion- aire Rinat Akhmetov's Met- invest holding group agreed with steel plant directors, police and community lead- ers to help improve security and get insurgents to vacate thebuildingstheyhadseized. Several dozen Metin- vest workers in overalls and helmets Friday cleared out barricades of debris and tires outside the Mar- iupol government building. Trucks carried it away and by midday, the barricades were nearly gone. "(Residents are) tired of war and chaos. Burglar- ies and marauding have to stop," said Viktor Gusak, one of the Metinvest em- ployees cleaning the street. Akhmetov has been no- table for his noncommittal during the turbulence that has for more than a month gripped the region that is home to his most lucrative industrial assets, so the de- velopment is noteworthy. A video statement by Akhmetov, 47, on Thurs- day made it clear that his loyalties are not so much with the Kiev government but with his native Donbass — a territory that encom- passes the Luhansk and Do- netsk regions. The only way, he said, was to effect ma- jor constitutional reforms, while preserving a united Ukraine. "This is when power goes from Kiev to the re- gions. This is when author- ities are not appointed but elected. And this is when lo- cal authorities take respon- sibility for people's real fu- ture," he said. Independence or absorp- tion into Russia would spell economic catastrophe for the region, he said. Since President Vik- tor Yanukovych's ouster in February, Ukraine's new leadership has reached out to oligarchs for help — ap- pointing them as gover- nors in eastern regions, where loyalties to Mos- cow were strong. Akhme- tov, who served in Yanu- kovych's Party of Regions, has avoided such engage- ments and his attempt to set future terms on the fu- ture of the east may cause the government to bristle. Fight against rebels threatens stability UKRAINE N EWS D AILY REDBLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U NTY S I N C E 1 8 8 5 PHONE: (530)527-2151 FAX: (530) 527-5774 545 Diamond Avenue • P.O. Box 220 • Red Bluff, CA 96080 Support our classrooms, keep kids reading. 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