August 03, 2004

Immigration Whistleblowers, Unite!—A VDARE.COM Reader Unmasks The CBP

By Juan Mann

Now more than ever, it’s time to put the internet to good use . . . for real immigration reform, that is.

Telling the truth about what’s really going on in the federal immigration bureaucracy is not only just the first step, it’s the most important one.

Since launching DeportAliens.com in October 2001, I’ve collected some interesting anonymous reports from the field.

And the e-mails from folks with insider knowledge keep coming.

After reading my recent handy guide to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on VDARE.com, and exploring DeportAliens.com, an anonymous reader emailed me this insight into our collapsing border enforcement:

“I enjoyed, sort of, reading those letters written by former and present INS employees complaining about the EOIR, the BIA, and ER [expedited removal] proceedings. At the time they wrote those letters, they had valid complaints. However, probably nothing tops the current set of circumstances at CBP [Customs and Border Protection].

“We now have Customs officials making immigration decisions. Curly, Larry and Moe could do a better job.

“Those who wrote about the Immigration Judges, bad managers, corrupt practices, etc. may have less to complain about. With Customs officials now making the majority of the day-to-day operating decisions on immigration matters, the key word is ‘discretion.’ Of course, they really mean ‘appeasement,’ but they can't say that.

“With Customs at the helm, CBP will soon be a shipwreck that will make the old INS look good.”

That’s not very comforting news for security at America’s ports of entry. And you thought the illegal alien invasion was just in Cochise County, Arizona? The anonymous reader explains:

“By the way, the average length of service by [port of entry] inspectors guarding the border now is very short. I'd guess about three years average. But it takes more than three years to be good. Combine that with Customs running the show, and it's not a good recipe. Training at the Academy focuses on Customs matters, not immigration matters although that is still taught. The legacy Customs people keep trying to find ways to water it down.

"Can you imagine an agency being run by officials who still think cargo is more important than people? The latest rumor is that the CBP Commissioner wants to do away with section 222(g)(2) of the Immigration Act because too many aliens are being sent back because they overstayed [their visas]! This section automatically voids a [non-immigrant] visa used to overstay in the U.S. . . . and they’re going to ask Congress to change it? That's the latest rumor out of HQ.

So to all the anonymous patriots out there, please keep up the good work. America desperately needs dedicated people who are not afraid to speak out when the time is right.

For example—people like the anonymous proprietor of “Good riddance to INS!—A Website Dedicated to Memorializing the Evils and Wrongdoings of the Legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service.” The “Good Riddance” webmaster describes his former working environment:

“The INS was full of people who were otherwise ‘unemployable.’ If it weren't for INS, many of these people would be working minimum wage jobs. ‘Would you like fries with that?’”

One of the union locals of the National Border Patrol Council hosts a no-holds-barred forum for its agents. The San Diego, California, chapter posts the following “quote of the week from an agent” –

“The situation for the Border Patrol in the DHS is far worse than it was under the INS. Incompetence has finally gone unrestrained.”

Former Customs official turned whistleblower, John Carman maintains a courageous web site called customscorruption.com—with the extra-added bonus of a history lesson on the battle of Thermopylae.

Carman gives a serious warning – which is really excellent advice—to those wishing to contact him, or follow in his footsteps:

“If you or a friend has a story for Customs Corruption.com, contact us by a confidential email account, pager, or prepaid cell phone, NOT your home phone, Not your personal computer. NEVER use a work computer at work. Prepaid phone cards can be utilized from anywhere and from a pay phone. Good luck!”

Syndicated Columnist Michelle Malkin, the author of the 2002 bestseller Invasion, hosts an extremely whistleblower-friendly contact page on her personal web site.

As a ferocious “security Mom,” Malkin advises serious whistleblowers contacting her to use the web-based encrypted e-mail available through the open-PGP [pretty good privacy] vendor Hushmail.com.

And she’s right. If e-mail privacy is a must, the hush encryption engine [PDF] based on Philip Zimmermann’s PGP is the way to go.

So if you have a story to tell, whether you contact your favorite writers on VDARE.com, Michelle Malkin, the rumor mill on Glenn Spencer’s American Patrol.com, or add to the unbelievable but true immigration stories compiled by the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus . . . just do it!

America deserves to know the truth.