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Feds are focused on ‘public safety threats,’ and Jose Antonio Vargas isn’t one

avatar by Published Oct. 9, 2012 7:39 am

Associated Press | The New York Times
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement didn’t detain Jose Antonio Vargas after his traffic arrest Friday because he’s not a priority: “ICE is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that prioritizes the removal of public safety threats, recent border crossers and egregious immigration law violators, such as those who have been previously removed from the United States,” agency spokesperson Gillian Christensen told reporters.

In The New York Times, Julia Preston reports Vargas returned to New York and will go back to Minnesota for arraignment later this month to face charges of driving without a license. “I am grateful to have made it home Friday night,” he told Preston. Vargas missed the lecture he was planning to give at Carleton College; he was pulled over for driving wearing headphones but arrested after a Minnesota State Patrol officer found his Washington state driver’s license had been canceled.

Vargas’ license was revoked after he revealed his undocumented status in an essay for The New York Times Magazine.

Katie Glueck reported Saturday that ICE had decided not to detain Vargas.

Previously: Jose Antonio Vargas arrested for driving without a valid license | Immigration officials didn’t ask for Vargas to be detained after arrest

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  • JH

    I was asking a question genuinely, you don’t know that I “chose to misunderstand” it – that seems incredibly rude to say. I am not on Vargas’s side by the way, but I do find the nasty, partisan comments really unproductive though.

  • Stephen Taylor

    JH, I understood what BajaRat said, as well as what he meant. You are simply choosing to misunderstand his comment. To clarify, he was referring to the official policy of indifference to the fact that illegal aliens are swarming across the United States; a policy perpetuated by both the Bush and Obama administrations. Why should the average Joe follow the rules if the government isn’t going to enforce them? Vargas flaunts his illegal status in the face of law-abinding Americans and immigrants everywhere.
    But of course the only thing that will fix this is an amnesty, right?

  • JH

    Just wondering, since when does the president of the country get involved in a traffic stop in Minnesota? Regardless of what you think of Vargas, is that realistic to think that he would? Is there a precedent for that?

  • http://nobama.com/ BajaRat

    This parasitic flip fruit Vargas should have been deported a long time ago, but instead the corrupt and despicable ObaMao regime is turning a blind eye and this pendejo Jose is being treated like some sort of celebrity instead of the criminal he is. The rule of law means nothing in this nation anymore…. unless you are a citizen, that is.