As a result of the close call that an airliner had on Christmas Day, several sectors are now calling for United States Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to step down.
This is not exactly the first time that lawmakers have called for Napolitano’s ouster. Republicans have tried to do that in the spring of 2009. The events of Christmas Day only rekindled the call for her to step down, with the Republican voices now also joined by Democrat voices.
The Department of Homeland Security was created in the wake of the attacks on September 11, 2001. It is the department responsible for keeping the country safe from terrorist attacks and responding to natural disasters. Agencies under its care include the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Immigration and Customs Enforcement, among others.
She has been severely criticized for saying initially that “the system worked” and insinuating that focus should be given more towards the timely and immediate response to the emergency at hand. She eventually retracted this statement, saying on NBC’s Today Show: “Our system did not work in this instance. No one is happy or satisfied with that.”
January 3rd, 2010 - 7:32 am
We all make mistakes but the biggest mistake we can make is to not fix our errors. And here is another of Janets mistakes.This post comes from Carl McGinnis, a citizen of the United States, who has seen the horrors of immigrant detention after ICE detained his legal immigrant friend, Noureddine Feddane. He tells us that it is not just about undocumented immigrants but even people who follow the rules get burned in our archaic and inhumane immigration system].
I am a citizen of the United States and I have a friend that is from Paris, France here on a student visa with a double Masters Degree and working on his PhD in International Finance. Noureddine Feddane has been here since 2005. His visa is valid until March of 2010, his passport is valid until 2014, and his I-20 is current. He is not what people call an ‘illegal immigrant.’ In 2007, he fell in love and in Dec. 2008 married a U.S. citizen that just happens to be addicted to prescription medications. He knew nothing about this. But he was arrested due to her mistakes. The reality is that his American wife was taking advantage of him and when his money was gone so was she. Janet Napolitano just wants to deport him rather than correct the problem, and make the American accountable. This is wrong. We should have some sort of protection built into the system. Judge Rex Ford would not listen to reason without the wife in court and all witnesses were not given time to testify. This is not what I thought American Justice was all about. I was wrong. It is all a game our Government plays with our lives.
Noureddine was placed in detention and scheduled for deportation. He has been in the detention center in Pompano Beach Florida for 5 months now. This couple has lost all there savings on lawyers, she lost her job, and they are in the process of losing their home. All this was caused because ICE has the wrong person in jail.
I have written many letters to Janet Napolitano, Senator Bill Nelson, Representative Ginny Brown-Waite and even President Obama. But no one will listen. What is illegal in this case is the way DHS is treating this guy, who is 51 and has never had a traffic violation. While in the detention center, He has been beaten by another inmate and suffered cracked ribs and bruised body, denied him food and proper medical treatment. Noureddine is diabetic and they will not give him the proper food or medical attention. The phone system is very poor and hardly works. I suspect that they plan it that way so the detainees cannot contact their lawyers and family. I fear he will be next on the long list of persons that have died while in detention. I beg for someone to go and listen to his story. They do not allow any form of media in because they don’t want anyone to know what they are doing.
Until you go to one of these detention centers and see with your own eyes, you will not believe what America is doing. I was shocked, on my first visit and after almost 6 months of seeing what happens and how they have to live, I am still in shock. It is all about the money. My friend has never cost America anything until they locked him up. He is in a private prison owned by a company called GEO based near Miami, Florida. They are paid very well by our tax dollars, but the treatment is unbelievable. I wonder how many politicians have stock in this company. They are doing quite well even in a bad economy.
Six months ago I had no idea that we treated immigrants in this way, especially when they are here legally and have done nothing wrong. I knew nothing about ICE and how they operate illegally. I was under the impression that DHS was here only to protect us from terrorists. And I had no idea of the millions of our tax dollars were being wasted to imprison people that could be out of detention and have their family support them until a decision is made in immigration court. I do not understand why we have to pay our hard earned tax dollars to house and feed persons that are not dangerous.
When they have to lock up a man who has done nothing wrong, make him spend thousands in fees, ICE is giving way too much importance to them selves. How can we turn such educated people away simply to boost the ego of ICE officers and add another number to the Janet Napolitano deportation list, so that the Obama Administration can look like it is doing its job of ‘cracking down on criminals?’
Something has to change soon. I feel it is my duty as an American to let as many people as possible know the truth. I visit the detention center every Saturday and spend the rest of the week writing letters. This New Year, lets do something worthwhile. Let’s go back to protecting the country rather than making up stories to justify the expansion of a national security complex. Let’s end businesses profiting from immigrant detention and restore our image as a nation of immigrants.
January 3rd, 2010 - 8:38 am
[...] Janet Napolitano Asked to Step Down Due Security Failure US Navy SEALs Blog & Information (blog) - 4 hours ago As a result of the close call that an airliner had on Christmas Day, several sectors are now calling for United States Secretary of Homeland Security Janet … Is Janet Napolitano to blame for Flight 253 security failure? Christian Science Monitor Napolitano wrong for our security Arizona Republic Maddow Gamely Spins Napolitano’s ‘System Worked’ Absurdity About Flight 253 NewsBusters (blog) Democrats Join Calls for Napolitano to Step Down Following Failed Attack FOXNews Related Posts [...]
January 6th, 2010 - 7:59 am
[...] is pissed off at the underwear bomb-airplane scare. “I’d like to see one person fired over this,” Howard urged, “Nobody ever gets fired in [...]
January 7th, 2010 - 6:22 am
[...] Department of Homeland Security has issued internal notices to its employees in an attempt to gather volunteers from within its [...]
July 9th, 2011 - 8:08 am
[...] a report from the Arizona Central, Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Homeland Security, says that despite continued violence on the south side of the [...]