Opponents of the Hurtt selection say that he is very critical of current immigration enforcement on the local and state level. Hurtt enforced Houston’s sanctuary city status, a program that was designed to protect illegal aliens and contradicted federal immigration laws.
Hurtt has also advocated that surveillance cameras be placed “in apartment complexes, downtown streets, shopping malls and even private homes.” In addition, last year in an interview with Al-Jazeera while serving as the police chief of Houston, he spoke about how bad the U.S. prison system is and how inmates with mental disabilities do not receive the treatment they need.
As director, Hurtt will be responsible for overseeing ICE’s Section 287(g) program, which works with and allows state and local law enforcement officials to carry out immigration laws and round up illegal aliens. In 2006, he testified before Congress and went on record suggesting that he believed that police should not be involved in rounding up or arresting illegal aliens.
Hurtt obtained a bachelor’s in sociology from Arizona State University and a master’s from the University of Phoenix. He also served in the United States Air Force. Obama will have to be prepared to receive a substantial amount of criticism from immigration law die-hards for selecting Hurtt. As director, Hurtt will make $180,000 annually. –torrance stephens
For more with Dr. Stephens, visit twitter.com/rawdawgbuffalo and rawdawgb.blogspot.com.
