Product Description

The true story of a dedicated deportation officer and his exposé of the worst aspects of U.S. immigration policy

“We have an immigration crisis in our country, all right, and it is a good deal more demonstrably wrong than the millions of illegal immigrants in the shadows. It is costlier to the fabric of American life than the September 11 attacks were. Illogical, deadly, ruinous. Yet none of our leaders is raising a finger to stop it. On the contrary, it is our leaders who drive the destruction.”
—Ames Holbrook, from The Deporter

As one of fewer than six hundred elite Deportation Officers in the country, Ames Holbrook was assigned to the criminal mecca of New Orleans. He was charged with capturing and expelling some of the most wretched murderers, rapists, and child molesters who were aliens in the United States.

But Holbrook was thwarted at nearly every turn . . . by the same U.S. government that employed him. Why? The reasons will shock and infuriate you.

In the course of his compelling story, you will read the truth about how foreign governments treat the United States when agents such as Holbrook try to send criminal aliens back to their homelands. And, even more appalling, how Washington’s political hypocrisy forces the direct release of these criminals into unsuspecting American communities.

Like every U.S. Deportation Officer, Ames Holbrook tried to make America safer. Then, when America’s leadership threatened the welfare of innocents, Holbrook rewrote the rules. He won commendations and increased responsibility for his promising results, but all the while, he was fighting a losing battle against the political powers that masqueraded as protectors while actually inflicting tragedy on America’s residents.

It is Holbrook’s hope that the revelations in these pages might put America on a path to a safer future.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #616504 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Former U.S. deportation agent Holbrook describes his job (a combination of policeman, lawyer and diplomat) in this unsettling memoir. Among its revelations is that America routinely releases illegal aliens who have committed crimes in the U.S. when the criminal fails to confirm his nationality with an official document and foreign consuls won't cooperate. (Cuba, Vietnam and Laos refuse to accept criminal deportees, while China, India, Egypt, all former U.S.S.R. nations and many others simply stall or insist there's no evidence for that person's citizenship.) Holbrook also reveals tricks he invented to deport the worst offenders that would have gotten him fired if discovered. For example, countries show less reluctance with lesser criminals, so in the case of a convicted murderer who also trespassed, he might only mention the trespass. Holbrook stresses that Bush administration officials could force nations to take back their murderers, rapists, thieves or child abusers, but choose not to; nor does the government prevent them from being released back into American communities after they have served their prison time or a portion of it, but deportation has been thwarted. This engrossing but disturbing book may impel some readers to action. (Oct. 4)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
“Not unlike Dirty Harry, this dedicated, flawed agent earns our sympathy, if not our unqualified approval. A penetrating, street-level view of an infinitely depressing and growing problem.”
–Kirkus Reviews

“As a congressman who is constantly exposed to tales of government incompetence regarding border control, I am rarely shocked. However, after reading The Deporter, I am once again reminded of the state of disarray our borders are in. This is a fascinating read.”
–Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.)

About the Author
Ames Holbrook was a federal deportation officer from 1998 to 2002, based in New Orleans. Previously, he served in the U.S. Army with a special weapons team in Italy and then with the 3rd Infantry Division in Germany. He now writes full time.

Customer Reviews

The Deporter - what a great read!
i've just finished reading "the deporter" and it was awesome. i like gritty novels, stories about cops and other government agencies. and to put my tastes on a map, the authors i like are joseph wambaugh and james patterson when it comes to these stories. they write great novels. so naturally i loved this book, "the deporter," even more than my past favorites. i loved it because of it's intelligent characters and because the story here is not only really exciting and painfully shocking - it's all real. the story is true. and it's an eye-opener. and that's the part that gets me angry. that this story is real. and here the author, holbrook, doesn't call for a stop on immigration, but he does lay out some ugly realities. and as an immigrant, i hate how those realities affect the whole issue negatively. i've always argued for more-open-than-not borders, but after reading this book and seeing through a deportation officer's eyes and being down in the street and virtually experiencing his job, i'm not so sure i want those borders so open anymore. immigration is reportedly good for the country but it's too easy to imagine our cities turning into crime-playgrounds for criminal aliens as they aren't being deported. anyway, i could go on, but i'll just say this book gets two thumbs up! i can't recommend this book enough! at the end of the day it's one great story about crime and the cops who stop it.

a bold commentary
It is refreshing to finally read an honest book
regarding this very important topic. The author
intelligently leads us, the readers, through a
confusing maze of bureaucratic nonsense without losing
our interests or burying us in the minutia.
Unfortunately for Americans, this is not a novel about
a fictitious hero with a happy ending, but rather a
true account of the everyday struggles of immigration
law enforcement. Not only is the information
contained in this book shocking, it is real. I hope
that reader's can see beyond the author's stories
about his experiences as an Immigration officer and
recognize that this book is a bold commentary on the
sad state of affairs governing this nation's
immigration policies. Although, I just finished this
book, I cannot wait to read the memoirs of 'Evil Ken'
and his exploits as a former Immigration officer.

Hugely Enjoyable and Hugely Important. Read and Share
My eyes have been opened, and The Deporter is a brisk page-turner as well. Holbrook's story will terrify you, even as you stand in admiration for his cunning, his deviousness, his single-mindedness of purpose, and his unquestionable patriotism. This book should also motivate you...to spread the word. Perhaps we, as the voting public, can change things if we pressure our politicians on this issue. I learned, and was shocked to discover, that we have monsters in our midst that our government, in its ineptitude, has forced agents like Holbrook, who are supposed to be our protectors, to release upon our streets. Holbrook broke all the rules, in an attempt to staunch some of this hemorrhage. As I read, I began to think...my own sister, or mother, or child, (or yours) could be living next to the next rapist or child molester or killer that is reluctantly released by Deportation Officers, by order of the Federal government. Holbrook's writing is extremely lucid and fast-paced. He gives all the details needed (but no more than necessary) to paint a very real picture of his exciting and excruciating experience. I am dying to share some of the delightful and inventive ploys that he came up with to save us from our own government's policies, but I won't spoil your terrific surprise. I also really appreciated Holbrook's way with words. He frequently made me think (and sometimes laugh or almost-I'm a guy- cry) with his interesting analogies and word choices. Hoping for more to come from this very gifted writer. Enjoy The Deporter!