Because a group of politicians intervened in the case.

And also so that the deportation order will be mooted if Congress passes amnesty.

Eleven illegal immigrants from the Chicago area, arrested in a high-profile nationwide sweep, received an unexpected reprieve Monday after elected officials and the public weighed in on their behalf.

An immigration judge in Chicago granted the former employees of IFCO Systems a one-year stay of deportation. In return, the immigrants pledged not to appeal the deportation orders.

The delay gives the immigrants a chance to stay in the country if Congress approves a bill granting legal status to many of the nation's 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants. That measure has stalled, for now, but many analysts think the prospects will improve after the November elections.

DHS officials are weighing the option of appealing this decision.

Marc Raimondi, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman, said the department was still evaluating the judge's decision but would likely appeal a one-year extension.

"In order for the immigration system to have any integrity, the laws have to be enforceable," Raimondi said. "We aren't going to be influenced by public sentiment. We are going to be influenced by enforcing the immigration laws."

That doesn't sit well with one politician.

[Congressman Luis] Gutierrez will ask the Department of Homeland Security to suspend all deportations to give Congress time to pass a legalization bill, the congressman's spokesman Scott Frotman said. Frotman said it does not make sense to deport illegal immigrants "because these are people who would ultimately be affected by the law."

And I'm asking DHS to expedite every single deportation case -- and I'm asking the people of Gutierrez's district to vote him out and replace him with a congressman who believes in enforcing American law.

Posted by: Greg at 05:23 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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