[SigNeewfoew]

From the ACCOUNT I posted above:
This massive buildup for the New Era is the outward manifestation of an internal shift in
the operational imperatives of the Long War, away from the “war on terror” (which has yielded
lean statistics) and onto another front where we can claim success: the escalating undeclared war
on illegal immigration. “Had this effort been in place prior to 9/11, all of the hijackers who failed
to maintain status would have been investigated months before the attack” (9). According to its
new paradigm, the agency fancies that it can conflate the diverse aspects of its operations and
pretend that immigration enforcement is really part and parcel of the “war on terror.” This way,
statistics in the former translate as evidence of success in the latter. Thus, the Postville charges—
document fraud and identity theft—treat every illegal alien as a potential terrorist, and with the
same rigor. At sentencing, as I interpreted, there was one condition of probation that was entirely
new to me: “You shall not be in possession of an explosive artifact.” The Guatemalan peasants in
shackles looked at each other, perplexed.

When the executive responded to post-9/11 criticism by integrating law enforcement
operations and security intelligence, ICE was created as “the largest investigative arm of the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)” with “broad law enforcement powers and authorities
for enforcing more than 400 federal statutes” (1). A foreseeable effect of such broadness and
integration was the concentration of authority in the executive branch, to the detriment of the
constitutional separation of powers. Nowhere is this more evident than in Postville, where the
expansive agency’s authority can be seen to impinge upon the judicial and legislative powers.
“ICE’s team of attorneys constitutes the largest legal program in DHS, with more than 750
attorneys to support the ICE mission in the administrative and federal courts. ICE attorneys have
also participated in temporary assignments to the Department of Justice as Special Assistant U.S.
Attorneys spearheading criminal prosecutions of individuals. These assignments bring much
needed support to taxed U.S. Attorneys’ offices”(33). English translation: under the guise of
interagency cooperation, ICE prosecutors have infiltrated the judicial branch. I don't post things that aren't worth reading.