Schneier on Security

Davi Ottenheimer • July 7, 2008 6:34 PM

Ah, let’s not forget the news from ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

Here’s one of their latest press releases from ICE, where they arrested eight people on criminal charges:

http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/080208losangeles.htm

In short, more than 100 federal agents entered and sealed the perimeter of a business with 130 employees.

Everyone was detained and forced to prove their identity/right to work.

Here is a typical critique of ICE, related to the same incident:

http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=20884

“…I.C.E. agents neglected to honor these victim’s 4th Amendment rights. For instance, one lady requested not to speak to the agents unless she had an attorney present. They told her she had no right to an attorney, which goes against our 4th Amendment Constitutional Rights. Another was taken for days, while her daughter was left to fend for herself.

Guest speakers also included the brother of Pedro Guzman, a U.S. citizen who was deported to Mexico by I.C.E. He elaborated on the fact that a judge had ordered that Pedro Guzman (who has memory problems that requires family assistance) be turned over to his family and STILL I.C.E. deported him to Mexico, clearly ignoring the judge’s order. If the ACLU hadn’t become involved, this U.S. citizen who was born and raised in California might still be wandering in Mexico.

They addressed the cruel tactics used by I.C.E. in dealing with the detained, waking them up in the middle of the night for lengthy interrogation practices and causing them sleep deprivation; holding them on buses for five hours in the hot summer without even allowing them to use a bathroom; leaving kids homeless for months before they were found and turned over to Social Services.”

As much as I would like to say profiling is terrible and useless, there is obviously some need for a sketch or a profile for law enforcement to narrow their search.

Perhaps fishing is a good analogy. While a spear or hook is the best approach to catch a single fish, it is not usually practical if you face vast territory with small resources. On the other hand, using a giant dragnet is incredibly destructive to other sea-life and potentially a greater harm than letting the fish you want go free. There is surely a balance somewhere in the middle, but so far it looks like the US Administration has favored the latter approach rather than finding a balance.

Davi Ottenheimer • July 8, 2008 2:13 PM

“Are you seriously citing an uncorroborated comment by an unidentifiable person in a self-moderated blog as an authoritative account?”

Don’t know what you would consider authoritative so I leave it to you to do the research.

I have read numerous cases and articles and listened to first-person accounts on the radio that all suggest the same thing — if someone carrying a badge knocks on your door at night you need to exercise your constitutional rights or they will enter and detain everyone until “authoritative” residency/work documentation is proven. It is likely that anyone unable to show papers, including those requiring medical assistance or with small children, will be forcibly deported within 24 hours.

Even ICE does not disagree with the accounts, they just report them as success stories and statistics. Note the “humanitarian services” numbers that they now include in their press releases. This is specifically meant to offset the growing criticism, which I guess you could say is a good thing (if it is more than a marketing tactic).