How far are politicians willing to go to assure illegal immigrants that the Obama administration’s backdoor amnesty policy keeps them safe from law enforcement? The Justice Department has sued Alabama, Arizona, South Carolina, and Utah, and parts of Georgia and Indiana’s laws have been halted by federal courts. The newest attack on state immigration enforcement returns us to Arizona, this time targeting Maricopa County and Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Information on the suit is available in English and Spanish on the DOJ website, and was quickly seized on by amnesty supporting politicians as another excuse to throw in the towel on enforcement.
Congressional Democrats have big problems understanding cause and effect. They insist that someone else shoulder the blame for their failures and the damage Democratic rule has done to the country. They are unable to make the connection between bad economic policy and high unemployment, and see no correlation between spending and debt. Likewise, they will never see how the failure of their permissive immigration policy leads to desperate state efforts to deal with their illegal populations.
Harry Reid used the renewed focus on Arizona as an excuse for a quick statement on the need for an immigration bill:
The best way to end the scapegoating of immigrant and Latino communities by officials like Sheriff Arpaio is for Congress to fix our nation’s broken immigration system.1
The best way to fix the problem would be to not have so many illegals. If enforcing the law in ways that are fair to citizens was a priority, Homeland Security would probably welcome help from states. That is not the message the White House wants to send. State incentives that lure illegals and are independent of federal law, like college assistance and safe zone sanctuary cities, remain unpunished despite Homeland Security’s pleas about scarce enforcement resources.
Denying law enforcement the ability to identify criminals would seem to be a bad idea, but Homeland Security yanked Maricopa County’s access to Secure Communities, the program that helps states identify the criminal immigrants DHS is supposed to be deporting. Janet Napolitano delivered the news:
Discrimination undermines law enforcement and erodes the public trust. DHS will not be a party to such practices. Accordingly, and effective immediately, DHS is terminating MCSO’s 287(g) jail model agreement and is restricting the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office access to the Secure Communities program.2
Fortunately, we have politicians like Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez to set the record straight. In a press conference held after a trip to Alabama, Gutierrez commented that as far as enforcement is concerned, illegals should expect a catch-and-release policy:
Look, the local cops are still gonna get you for driving without a license or not coming to a complete stop before a right turn on red. But when they take you to Secretary Napolitano’s officers at ICE, what should happen is that you show them that you have strong ties and when they run your record and it shows no criminal history, you should be allowed to go free right then and there, back to your wife and children.3
For most of us driving without a license is a serious offense. If you have no license, you have no insurance, either, and may sit in jail until you can cough up money for bail. The congressman’s remarks trivialize accountability and financial responsibility, and make it clear to illegals how easy it is to secure a pass from Homeland Security.
This is how far our government has fallen. We are used to politicians showing us their backsides, but illegal immigration has real consequences for citizens. Washington’s willful refusal to deal with the problem is repeatedly being waved in our faces by those living off of the taxpayer’s dime while the efforts of states to take the initiative are punished in the federal court system. The real losers in states like Alabama and Arizona are taxpayers whose rights continue to take second place to a backdoor amnesty policy that protects illegals from law enforcement.
1..United States Senate Democrats. Reid on DOJs Findings Of Civil Rights Violations By Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Department. http://democrats.senate.gov/2011/12/16/reid-on-dojs-findings-of-civil-rights-violations-by-sheriff-joe-arpaios-department/, retrieved December 16, 2011.
2..Homeland Security. Homeland Security. Statement by Secretary Napolitano on DOJ’s Findings of Discriminatory Policing in Maricopa County. December 15, 2011. http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/20111215-napolitano-statement-doj-maricopa-county.shtm, retrieved December 18, 2011.
3..Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Rep. Luis Gutierrez Statement at Alabama Immigration Pres Conference. December 2, 2011. http://chc-gonzalez.house.gov/press-release/rep-luis-gutierrez-statement-alabama-immigration-press-conference, retrieved December 18, 2011.
Post a Comment