October 05, 2003
ICE’s Real Priority – Find Muslim Chaplains for Detention Centers!
By
Juan Mann
I recently reported on the
meltdown of the Department of Homeland Security’s
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
division – perfectly exemplified by D.A King’s
experience when he tried to report illegal aliens to
the Atlanta office.
Perhaps this meltdown is occurring because the ICE
bureaucrats are focusing on something really important:
hiring
Muslim chaplains.
Hiring enough chaplains – for “different faiths,”
mind you – to cover all of the DHS’ immigration
detention centers ranks as enough of a priority to
make a ten-year strategic agenda for ICE’s Office of
Detention and Removal (DRO).
In June, 2003, the DRO released a ten-year strategic
plan for 2003 through 2012 called “Endgame,”
with the blessing of its
Director, former
Coast Guard officer Anthony S. Tangeman
[send
him e-mail:
anthony.s.tangeman@dhs.gov;
anthony.tangeman@dhs.gov].
Among other things, “Endgame” heralds the “unique
and extremely diverse” alien population of its
detention centers as one of the DRO’s
“strengths.”
The DRO report addresses
“chaplaincy” as follows:
“DRO has requested
positions be created to place chaplains in each of the
Service Processing Centers (SPCs) to ensure that
detainees of different faiths are provided reasonable
and equitable opportunities to pursue their respective
religious practices. This initiative will satisfy
detention standards that allow for the practice of
various religions, unique food provisions, and spiritual
needs during terminal illness and death. The chaplain
will also be responsible for advising the Officer in
Charge in matters of religious holiday observance,
religious diets, religious personal property, dress and
contraband.”
[Section 2-3,
PDF page 13]
Why is the DRO concerned about
“chaplaincy” when there are
389,000 (and counting) illegal aliens and criminal
alien resident fugitives on the loose? The very same
fugitives that the DRO has the responsibility of
apprehending?
Who knows?
Considering the recent
experience of the U.S. military, giving
Wahabi “chaplains”
access to federal immigration detention centers
isn’t exactly a step in the right direction for homeland
security anyway.
And considering the
trouble the U.S. military has also had in selecting
Muslim chaplains to “minister” to detainees at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, maybe the DHS had better re-think
this agenda item.
Or at least
Secretario Ridge had better be careful who “ministers”
to federal immigration detainees.
Juan Mann [send him
email] is a lawyer and the proprietor of
DeportAliens.com.
