Amnesty by any other name...

With rising unemployment, massive health care legislation, the war in Afghanistan, show trials for terrorists, and yet another apology tour by Obama (to Asia, where he started out by bowing to the Emperor of Japan), one might think there is little room left on the administration’s plate for anything else. But with Lou Dobbs being forced off CNN, it may be worth noting that his signature issue is still getting attention—both by network executives and the Obama administration.

On November 13 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the text of a speech Janet Napolitano will deliver to the Center for American Progress, the leftist think tank which comes up with many of Obama’s schemes for government expansion over the lives of all U.S. citizens. Her speech will likely not be broadcast on television. (Perhaps C-SPAN will air it.) Few Americans will even know it was given. Even fewer will know what it contained. For the record, it’s a renewal of the call for “comprehensive immigration reform”—also known as “amnesty for illegals—disguised with a few calls for responsibility and accountability. Her speech gives a hint of what immigration reform means to Obama.

Napolitano states, “Over the past ten months, we’ve worked to improve immigration enforcement and border security within the current legal framework. But the more work we do, the more it becomes clear that the laws themselves need to be reformed.” Most Americans would be hard-pressed to give any examples of what the Obama administration has done to improve immigration enforcement or border security. In fact, many Americans may be aware of what Obama has done to thwart border security. Phoenix’s East Valley Tribune reported that the “…Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has stripped Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio of his authority to arrest suspected illegal immigrants based solely on their immigration status.” The popular Arpaio says he will not back down, but will continue to follow the law and arrest illegal immigrants. “It’s all politics,” said Arpaio of the criticism directed at him from Washington. According to the Tribune, “Arpaio said he believes DHS made the changes to stop his ‘crime suppression operations,’ which are saturation patrols in designated areas where deputies would find illegal immigrants by stopping them for traffic infractions and minor violations.”

The Obama administration does not want the use of “racial profiling” to round up illegal immigrants—if you’re going to round up dark-haired Hispanics you apparently must also round up blond, blue-eyed Swedes and old ladies with walkers—but Arpaio frequently appears on television talk shows to defend his practices, stating that he will continue to do his job to protect the tax-paying citizens of Arizona. Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ) stated, “This unbelievable move by the Obama Administration represents a politicized attempt to hinder one of our most effective illegal immigration enforcement mechanisms, the 287(g) program.” (That program delegates Homeland Security authority for enforcing federal immigration laws to state and local officials like Arpaio.) The Obama administration is angered because Arpaio is actually following the law and arresting illegal immigrants. YourWestvalley.com notes that “…over 33% of inmates in Maricopa County Sheriff facilities are illegal, and more than 53% of violent crimes in Maricopa County are committed by illegal immigrants.” Arpaio stated he is being singled out for criticism by the Obama administration because of politics and because he is successful.

While it may appear to many that Obama doesn’t give a damn about border security, Napolitano happily furnishes an example of her department’s improved enforcement: “At DHS, we started screening 100 percent of southbound rail shipments for illegal weapons and cash—for the first time ever.” Yes, you read that right: southbound rail shipments. Napolitano and Obama apparently believe that “border security” means stopping guns and cash going to Mexico; most Americans believe it means stopping illegal immigrants, weapons, and drugs coming from Mexico.

Continues Napolitano, “Let me be clear: when I talk about ‘immigration reform,’ I’m referring to what I call the ‘three-legged stool’ that includes a commitment to serious and effective enforcement, improved legal flows for families and workers, and a firm but fair way to deal with those who are already here.” In other words, Obama has no plans to beef up border security. “Improved legal flows” means, of course, making it easier for more immigrants to enter the United States, by loosening visa requirements and printing green cards as fast as Bernanke and Geithner are printing greenbacks. (Note to Obama and Napolitano: With the unemployment rate at 10.2 per cent and showing no signs of going down, now might not be a good time to make it easier for more people looking for work to enter the country.) And the administration may not be aware of it, but there already exists “a firm but fair way to deal with those who are already here”—a one-way bus ticket to Tijuana.

Napolitano brags, “…DHS has built more than 600 miles of border fencing.” That was done under the Bush administration, not by Obama, and most Americans consider that mileage figure a failure, not an achievement; they want the entire border secured. Whatever that would cost, it is far cheaper than lifelong federal and state handouts to the huddled masses yearning to live for free.

Napolitano cites several statistics in her address, but ignores the two that are most important to Americans: How many people enter the United States illegally every year, and how many are being deported?

Napolitano states, “…I took an oath as Secretary of Homeland Security to secure the nation by enforcing the law and managing legal flows across the border. Let me be clear: to do this job as effectively as possible, DHS needs immigration reform.” Why is “immigration reform” needed for Napolitano and Obama to enforce the existing laws of the United States? Are they failing to enforce current laws while they wait for the particular type of reform they desire? What type of reform do they want?

Says Napolitano, “…we need Congress to create the legal foundation for bringing the millions of illegal immigrants in this country out of the shadows, require them to register and pay all taxes they owe, and enforce the penalties that they will have to pay as part of earning legal status. Let me emphasize this: we will never have fully effective law enforcement or national security as long as so many millions remain in the shadows.” Why can there not be effective enforcement of existing laws? Why can we not deport those immigrants who came in through the back door illegally, and make them reenter the United States legally through the front door—as tens of millions have done before them for two centuries? Napolitano is basically saying what all the “immigration reformers” are saying: Make the illegals citizens, and there will then be no enforcement problem! That is tantamount to arguing, “Make shoplifting legal and we will cease to have shoplifters.” Instead of bribing the lawbreakers with a promise of citizenship to bring them “out of the shadows,” why not simply turn on the lights?

Napolitano then whines, “No one should have to wait in a line for years in order to reunite with a spouse or a young child.” That, of course, is the logical consequence of entering the United States illegally while some family members remain behind. But the blame there lies with the person who broke the immigration laws—not American citizens. Similarly, U.S. prisons are full of people who have been separated from their families—but that is no justification for a presidential pardon for every convict.

“Immigration reform” had been on Obama’s agenda for 2009. He wanted to strike while the iron was hot, had high approval ratings, and a compliant congress. It is clear now that will not happen this year, because Obama’s energies have been focused on destroying America’s health insurance industry. But amnesty for illegals will most certainly be on the docket for 2010. Obama knows full well that many of his Democrat comrades will fail in their bid for reelection in November 2010, and if he loses too many he will get nowhere with amnesty for illegals in 2011.

Obama knows that he has only 2010 in which to grant citizenship to millions of illegals and convert them to lifelong Democrat voters. He’s hoping Americans will let their guard down and pay little attention to immigration legislation. Do not let that happen. At the first whiff of “comprehensive immigration reform,” write, call, email, or fax your Senators and Congressmen. Tell them in no uncertain terms that Americans want improved border security first. Then, after 10 or 20 years of seeing how that goes, we may be willing to listen to at least a few of their other ideas about immigration reform.

Don Fredrick

November 14, 2009

Note: On November 14, Anti-immigration protests were held across the United States, organized by the Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee (ALIPAC) - http://www.alipac.us/. Pro-amnesty groups planned counter-demonstrations.