The Washington Post’s Spencer S. Hsu and Kari Lyderson took a look on Sunday at the newest — and probably most ineffective — immigration policy: "Scheduled Departure." While the name evokes dread about whether your plane will leave on time, the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement policy behind the name sounds even worse. About 457,000 undocumented immigrants are being asked to turn themselves in and leave with the country. As reward, they won’t be arrested. Since Scheduled Departure started Friday, three such immigrants have taken the offer.

Hsu and Lyderson smartly use the policy as a springboard to talk about ICE’s haphazard detention of immigrants. The Dept. of Homeland Security agency is supposed to prioritize going after undocumented immigrants who pose a criminal threat. But over the last five years, people have been arrested and mysteriously detained irrespective of background. With only five months left in the Bush administration, ICE may soon start to use Scheduled Departure for its own political appointees.-MB