Obama Opens Nine New "Resorts" for Illegal Aliens -- Hey, We Can Afford It, Right?

Illegal aliens awaiting deportation from the U.S. are entitled to a few little necessities, don't you think? Like, say, continental breakfasts on the weekend, bingo parties, dance classes, arts and crafts, self-serve beverage and fresh veggie bars, cooking classes, tutoring, computer training, and a natural setting in which to perform aerobic exercise. Oh yes, free phone and email access, too. And every federal taxpayer is entitled to pay for these little necessities, of course.

From the Houston Chronicle (via Wyblog):

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are preparing to roll out a series of changes at several privately owned immigration detention centers, including relaxing some security measures for low-risk detainees and offering art classes, bingo and continental breakfast on the weekends.

The changes, detailed in an internal ICE e-mail obtained by the Houston Chronicle, were welcomed by immigrant advocates who have been waiting for the Obama administration to deliver on a promise made in August to overhaul the nation's immigration detention system.

The 28 changes identified in the e-mail range from the superficial to the substantive. In addition to “softening the look of the facility” with hanging plants and offering fresh carrot sticks, ICE will allow for the “free movement” of low-risk detainees, expand visiting hours and provide unmonitored phone lines.

Don't monitor the movements or phone lines of illegal aliens being deported. But make sure to monitor the income streams of legal citizens. Don't spend the taxpayers' money on taxpayers. Spend it on non-taxpayers. Check.

ICE officials have faced pressure from immigrant advocates and some members of Congress to improve the detention conditions for the roughly 400,000 immigrants it houses annually. 

I like that. Obama seeks legal action (on the taxpayer's dime) against the state of Arizona for honoring the wishes of citizens desperate to see immigration laws enforced, but responds favorably to pressure from illegal immigration advocates. 

But the plans are prompting protests by ICE's union leaders, who say they will jeopardize the safety of agents, guards and detainees and increase the bottom line for taxpayers. Tre Rebstock, president for Local 3332, the ICE union in Houston, likened the changes to creating “an all-inclusive resort” for immigration detainees.

“Our biggest concern is that someone is going to get hurt,” he said, taking particular issue with plans to relax restrictions on the movement of low-risk detainees and efforts to reduce and eliminate pat-down searches. 

Reducing and eliminating pat-down searches could allow contraband, like weapons, into facilities. Eliminating lockdowns "will make it more difficult to protect detainees from one another." The changes are planned for nine detention centers, including a 900-bed facility in Houston.

Rebstock also questioned the cost to taxpayers for the changes.

“My grandparents would have loved to have bingo night and a dance class at the retirement home they were in when they passed away, but that was something we would have had to pay for,” he said. “And yet these guys are getting it on the taxpayers' dime.”

Maybe Rebstock's family could have afforded a nicer facility for his grandparents if they weren't paying exorbitant taxes on their incomes. But then again, who cares? Rebstock's grandparents obviously didn't belong to a preferred constituency.
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