Secondly he was selling heroin! How the heck they thought a 120 day boot camp is equivalent to 7 years in prison is beyond me.

You are so right!! I had to go back and re-read that, since I just couldnt believe it!! He should have gotten 10 to 20 yrs..

On the other hand I find it sad the Feds are attempting to deport US Citizens and ignoring the illegals, how could they possible have mistaken him for being a green card holder? Its just unreal..

Great points. I was thinking the same things. He wants compensation for what? The two months. Come on. He like you people stated the crime should have put him away for 7 years. Hopefully the experience will change is ways.

ignoring the illegals?? Obama has deported twice as many illegals in the past 3 1/2 years than Bush did in 8. And doubled boarder patrol agents. So why is it that peoples perceptions on who is stronger or weaker on illegal aliens is the polar opposite of what reality shows.

Braincandy,

that is because if you lie loud enough and long enough eventually people will believe (instead of finding out for themselves). I had sympathy until I read heroin! In that case, the government should have revoked his citizenship and sent him back to India. Either that or at least 10 years in prison.

Obviously, the guy is an empty suit. And while we are at it, impeach the judge that allows Heroin sellers to get off with 120 day in a boot camp. 1st degree felonies should not be allowed to attend boot camp.

Braincandy - because conservatives' brains are wired for perceiving the world on an emotional plane, not a factual one. Once they decided they just don't like Obama, no amount of facts re their stated basis for not liking the guy will change that.

There are various studies out there about the difference between the very structure of liberal brains (geared towards sorting through conflicting facts to make decisions), and conservative ones (emotional/ "gut feeling" and rigid once taking a position). E.g.;

http://healthland.time.com/2011/04/08/liberal-vs-conservative-does-the-difference-lie-in-the-brain/

Try to convince a conservative who'd made up his mind to change it by using an argument based on facts that show he's wrong is useless - it's a situation of talking across each other. Best you can do is make him or her concede, at the moment, that he's wrong - but within a few hours a conservative will erase the gist of that argument and go back to where he or she had been along :D

A 120 day boot camp for a non-violent drug offense is 100% more effective than hard incarceration for any amount of time. Drugs are available in prison, but are less easily accessible in the boot camp program you people are so eager to dismiss. The factual reality is that these treatment programs are more effective at permanently altering the criminals life and keeping them off drugs. Prison is a hopeless endeavor and people will continue to use when they feel hopeless. Once released, they're still addicted and go right back to their old tricks. Treatment programs are proven (by every major study ever conducted on the subject) to be more effective than prison sentences. You people (that decry treatment as a cure for addiction, and sub mindless imprisonment in its stead) are truly daft.

Also, @Brain Candy, et al.

Obama's deportation numbers are inflated. He, for example, includes self-deportations with his total, something no president has ever done before him. Even ICE agents issued a vote of no-confidence in their superior for this reason. Read it here:

http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2011/12/obama-admin-skews-deportation-figures/

and here:

http://www.aim.org/guest-column/bogus-deportation-statistics-released-by-obama-say-lawmakers/

(BTW: I am not a "Rethuglican," "Republiclown," or any of the other idiotic, partisan insults you may feel an immediate need to hurtle at me just because I provided evidence that Obama is not altogether truthful vis a vis his deportation record-- I am an independent, so keep your silly partisan childishness to yourself).

Terrorists didn't take away the freedom, liberty and justice of the American people – the U.S. government did that.

Terrorists didn't draw up the Patriot Act, create the Department of Homeland Security, spy illegally on Americans, launch 3 unprovoked armed attacks against 3 foreign states, abolish habeas corpus, kidnap, deport, torture and murder U.S. and foreign civilians – the U.S. government did that.

Terrorists didn't loot $trillions from US Federal Tax Revenue and give it to the Wall Street bankers – the U.S. government did that.

Terrorists didn't bankrupt the U.S. – the U.S. government did that.

Terrorists didn't create the $15.6 trillion national debt – the U.S. government did that ($13 trillion added by just the last 4 of the 44 presidents of the United States – George HW Bush, Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barrack Obama – Obama added $5 trillion in just 3 years, George W Bush added $5 trillion over 2 terms, Bill and Hillary Clinton added $1.5 trillion, George HW Bush added $1.5 trillion) .

Terrorists didn't force millions of Americans out of work and onto the street – the U.S. government did that.

Terrorists didn't develop and release the Avian Flu and the Swine Flu – the U.S. government did that.

Terrorists didn't drop nuclear bombs on civilian cities – the U.S. government did that.

Terrorists didn't murder 3 million civilians in Iraq – the U.S. government did that.

Now tell me who is a greater threat to the American people and to the World – a phantom terrorist group called al Qaeda or the U.S. government? Tell me why would you travel thousands of miles to a foreign country to fight and even give your life to protect and restore their rights and freedoms when your own rights and freedoms are being stripped away at home, on US soil, by your government? Who is a greater threat to mankind? Those who have used nukes against foreign and US civilian cities or those seeking to develop nuclear energy.

The American people went off to war to remove by force the leadership of foreign states that were allegedly a threat to their own people and to mankind. The US government justified their murder of those leaders by claiming they eliminated the threat they posed to the US and to the World. However, after the fact, the evidence showed that none posed any imminent or future threat to their people or to any other foreign state. In fact, the evidence clearly shows the World that it is the US leadership who are the greatest threat to mankind and to the American people. Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Somalia, and Iran have not and have never attacked the US. It was and is the US government who has attacked or is planning to wage war with Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Somalia, and Iran. The US government is the only leadership in the World to use nukes against civilian cities – not just once but 4 times and twice against it own people, on US soil.

WMG-21, those links don't dispute the numbers of illegals deported. They're a bunch of nonsense about how many or not were convicted criminals, but no where does it dispute the actual number being deported. Seems more like a right-wing spin on an issue to divert your attention away from the actual total number deported by throwing a bunch of small numbers in your face and hoping people (like you) will gravitate to the low numbers and not pay attention to those numbers were small percentages of the total deportation number.

Drug Diversion is always better then Prison (it's cheaper and could benefit the youth)

I mean seriously young people do stupid ass things all the time.

you guys love to throw the clanks on someone but what if it's your child who has a drug problem

Think before you spout off about 10 years for selling heroin especially if it's your kid who just needs a little help and guidance.

1. Drug programs certainly should be a first attempt in prevention through the courts!

2. This young man had a bad experience, hope he learned from it... Don't sell or do drugs "You might experience some bad juju!"

3. Our government needs to get their sh** together on this issue.

4. Why does the court give a heroin dealer 7 years and a child molester 2 or 3 years, sometimes even just probation and treatment?

Just sayin'...

@Braincandy:

from one of the links above:

However, there are some who claim the figures released by Morton — who was the recipient of a unanimous “vote of no confidence” by his own staff, the men and women who serve as ICE agents — are purposely misleading or out-and-out bogus.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) issued a biting statement upon reading the ICE statistics.

“The Obama administration continues to inflate its deportation numbers. The administration includes voluntary removals in its deportation statistics even though they impose no penalties on the offenders and make it easier for illegal immigrants to return to the U.S.,” said Rep. Smith.

Voluntary removals have never been included in any report for any other administration in the entire history of our country. Obama is the first. If you subtract those, the numbers are a lot more realistic.

Hell, even that Liberal bastion of skewed reporting, The Huffington Post, cast doubt on Obama's numbers:

The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a data-gathering, research and distribution organization at Syracuse University, reported last week that the number of deportation legal proceedings initiated between October and December 2011 fell by 33 percent from the previous quarter.

...

But a key question remains: what are the real deportation numbers? Nobody knows for sure, said Dan Kowalski, editor of Bender’s Immigration Bulletin and curator of the LexisNexis Immigration Law Community.

“We only know how many get caught every day and how many get deported. In between, we know nothing," Kowalski said. "There is no way to prove these numbers.”

He pled guilty (SELLING heroin, not just possession or transport), he was sentenced to 7 years in prison, and served two months in prison. boo hoo, poor man. Thanks for bringing shame on former Marines (no mention of his type of discharge.) Your compensation for being sent to the wrong place (for two months) is a pass on 6 years and 10 months of hard time.

True, when he presented his US Passport, the ICE should have checked that out - the State Dept. doesn't pass those out in Crackerjack boxes. And if the passport was fraudulent, as they evidently suspected, he would have been eligible for further charges. Since he is a convicted felon now (selling drugs that probably were smuggled into the country), might be a good time to pull that passport, for life.

Selling Heroin is not selling pot and I feel that people that sell drugs like heroin and cocaine should be taken to the front of the court house and publicly executed.

Exactly. I'd have more pity for him if he wasn't a freaking drug dealer.

The thing is, he WAS going to be deported. Where do you deport American citizens to? Mistakes were made that could have been even worse than the 7 years in prison he could have gotten.

Try actually reading the article, elrenno. It doesn't state anywhere that he was going to be deported, he had an immigration hold and they sent him to a max security prison. Blockhead!

He didn't get 2 months incarcerate, he spent 8. 2 in prison and 6 in boot camp.

Because he's a US citizen, maybe.

Or maybe you think it might be a good idea to just deport all convicted criminals, citizen or not.

It would sure reduce the prison population.

You can have your citizenship revoked for major crimes. This should have been the case here.

the real issue is the govt screw up, it the judge allowing this POS to be back on the street in less than a year. Nice job judge!

He was adopted at the age of ONE YEAR OLD by American Citizens. He did not come here illegally, he was nowhere near an age of reason when he was adopted and RAISED IN AMERICA, yet there are people who say that he should be DEPORTED?

Fine ... anyone of European descent who doesn't have ANY Native American blood should be DEPORTED BACK TO EUROPE if they commit a crime. It shouldn't matter how long your ancestors were here, if you commit a violent crime you CERTAINLY should be denied American citizenship. That would certainly clear up our prison systems. (/sarcasm)

Adam-2011718, please cite where the Constitution states one's citizenship can be revoked?

Actually, your citizenship cannot be revoked, only voluntarily given up. Which is all the vogue with the Rich tax evading types.

Because he IS a US citizen. Now does that help? Think about it.

Cat, while I agree with what appears to be your premise that he shouldn't be deported, I certainly disagree with your argument

"Fine ... anyone of European descent who doesn't have ANY Native American blood should be DEPORTED BACK TO EUROPE if they commit a crime. It shouldn't matter how long your ancestors were here, if you commit a violent crime you CERTAINLY should be denied American citizenship."

First as to Native American blood...I was born here! I'm a native as much as any other native regardless of racial or ethnic heritage.

If you didn't mean native in that way but rather meant as a race which originated here, then there are none! Best of my knowledge, man preceded primates on American soil. No primates? Then nothing from which man could evolve. ALL HUMANS IN AMERICA CAME FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE! Not just those of European descent.

I might also point out that of those tribes of folks regarded (erroneously, to my way of thinking) as (the only) Native Americans, very few of them were the FIRST people on the lands they claimed as theirs (before having those lands taken away by European settlers). They (American Indians, for lack of a better term) came, they saw land they wanted, and they killed or chased off the original occupants. Kinda sorta just like what ALL races did (and looks like still do).

Or the judge relooks at the situation and puts him back in jail where he belongs.

No, we are stuck with him since he became an American citizen and it is hard to strip that from him. Damn dope dealer.

You do bring up some interesting points.

First, I certainly don't support a mere 120 days of boot camp for a heroin dealer. He should have MUCH MORE jail time.

But ... smoke and mirrors guys ... the drugs are NOT the issue.

The issue is how this program is implemented and how people get caught in the trap.

Let's look at this a slightly different way. Let's say this guy got arrested, not yet convicted, yet immigration got a "hold" on him. He gets sent to the federal prison awaiting deportation. REMEMBER, he's a U.S. Citizen!

Now, the guy gets cleared of the crime, but he's still in federal prison!

Moral of the story ... don't be confused by the smoke and mirrors. The DRUG CRIME is not the issue.

Well stated Beth. Whether one disagrees with the 120 day boot camp sentence, that was the judge's decision, and as such, is the law of the land. The hypoctites posting that he should be deported apparently want the law enforced in some cases, but not others. ICE had no legal authority to issue an immigration hold, and had no legal authority to hold him in a max security prison and certainly no authority to deport an American citizen. In other words, THEY BROKE THE LAW. Hardly commendable behavior from our government. Personally I feel the government should be held to an even higher standard than our citizens, though I do not condone citizens selling heroin.

The Department of Homeland Security is the defendent in this suit, so they are the ones who issued the deportation order. Always look at these news stories with skepticism - the "maximum security" prison does have a maximum security wing, but it also has a minimum security division and a protective custody wing. Jails and prisons are totally different facilities; there is no 'maximum security' jail, and all prisons have 'maximum security' areas. The author of this article is simply drumming up emotional engagement from the readers, which always sells.

People should keep in mind that there's far more to this story than we are hearing. There are a thousand questions unanswered. How much heroin was he trafficking (remember, he plead guilty)? Why sell heroin if you are a highly-paid network engineer? Where is his "network engineer job?" - a private company or a government employer? Was this a 'shakedown' intimidation effort to pressure him on some other issue (cyberterrorism, etc)? Was he actually sent to the prison because of the immigration issue or because non-citizens cannot attend the boot camp? Had the boot camp not existed, he would have gone to that prison anyway. What ward of the prison did he actually occupy? His statement of "I stayed in my room 99 percent of the time" means that he had options and freedom of movement - maximum security inmates don't get the choice to stay inside when all the others are sent to the courtyard... when the guards tell you to go somewhere, you go.

The article also quietly notes that he was a former Marine. If he had an honorable discharge, regardless of anything else, sections 328 and 329 of the INA guarantees citizenship through military service during wartime maneuvers. His military records alone should have sufficed in proving his citizenship, because being 25, he could have only enlisted as far back as 7 years ago (age 18); the Gulf War has been going on since 1990 (Desert Shield). Additionally, his records would also have his fingerprints, among other ways to identify him if the worst happens. Why did he only show his passport to the investigators? Why not show your dog tags and service record statements?

I'm not saying that the immigration misidentification issue is right or wrong, I'm simply saying that people should not get emotionally invested in a story unless they know all the facts. If it is exactly as the story says, I would say he should be awarded the immigration suit, with the provision he faces the standard sentencing in illinois - up to $500,000 fine and/or 60 years in the pen (depending on how much heroin he was selling/trafficking). Or, he can accept a formal apology from the DHS and restitution for lost wages only, and simply walk away with 120 days in a boot camp. Not because he is an illegal alien (because he is not), but because he is a scumbag drug dealer.

It's not a capital offense. It would be nice if you advocated for our Constitution, not against it.

Drive2daydan, that would be illegal. It isn't up to the DA what his sentence should be, it is the judge's decision and was made in 2010. Pretty selective law enforcement on your part.

American in Austin, you're missing something allright!