EXCLUSIVE: Watchdog uncovers Biden administration scheme to consult radical groups on policy giving illegal immigrants legal representation
THE LOWDOWN:
Federal government watchdog Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT) uncovered the plot by Mayorkas to consult with radical immigration groups on giving illegal immigrants taxpayer-funded attorneys for immigration proceedings.
PPT director Michael Chamberlain told the Washington Reporter that the discovery of radical special interest groups having a heavy hand in crafting immigration policy at the height of the Biden border crisis is “not comforting.”
According to the FOIA documents exclusively obtained by the Reporter, Mayorkas sent to his staff a list of individuals for an in-person meeting in March 2022, which his staff expanded on with further names in an email response. This list included representatives from SEIU, CHIRLA, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) — a group in which Mayorkas served on the board — among others.
As a civil court proceeding and not a criminal one, the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution does not apply to immigration proceedings, including those involving illegal immigration. That, however, did not stop Mayorkas and the Biden administration from exploring the idea of giving illegal immigrants taxpayer-funded legal representation.
A federal watchdog uncovered a scheme by then-Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to consult radical immigration groups on a policy aiming to give illegal immigrants legal representation.
Federal government watchdog Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT) uncovered the plot via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) documents by Mayorkas to consult with radical immigration groups on giving illegal immigrants taxpayer-funded attorneys for immigration proceedings.
Some of these immigration groups, such as the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), have allegedly been active participants in the violent anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles, California.
PPT director Michael Chamberlain told the Washington Reporter that the discovery of radical special interest groups having a heavy hand in crafting immigration policy at the height of the Biden border crisis is “not comforting.”
“Once again, we see how policy in the Biden administration was driven by powerful special interest allies,” Chamberlain said. “Some of them had ties to administration officials and virtually all of them from a very narrow sliver of the ideological spectrum.”
“Just as we discovered via FOIA documents how the teachers’ unions exerted their influence on the Department of Education, these records reveal the groups that appear to be the hand-picked advocates former Secretary Mayorkas looked to on immigration policy and it’s not comforting,” he continued.
“It’s easy to see both how immigration became such an important issue during his tenure at the same time he and the Biden administration completely lost the trust of the American people in that area,” Chamberlain added.
As immigration proceedings are civil rather than criminal, the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution does not necessarily apply to immigration proceedings, including those involving illegal immigration. That, however, did not stop Mayorkas and the Biden administration from exploring the idea of giving illegal immigrants taxpayer-funded legal representation.
According to the FOIA documents exclusively obtained by the Reporter, Mayorkas sent to his staff a list of individuals for an in-person meeting in March 2022, which his staff expanded on with further names in an email response. This list included representatives from SEIU, CHIRLA, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) — a group in which Mayorkas served on the board — among others.
The email also included a link to a Guardian article on alternatives to detention (ATD) as well as a link to a Vox Media article lauding Second Circuit Chief Judge Robert Katzmann over his “representation model” for illegal immigrants facing immigration legal proceedings.
The Biden administration’s strategy of outsourcing public policy is nothing new.
One of the most well-known controversies of the last administration was radical teacher’s unions running rampant when it came to school reopening policies. DHS’s utilization of further outside special interest groups to push radical policy changes is just par for the course.
The Reporter reached out to SEIU, CHIRLA, KIND, and HIAS for comment.
