Posted on 05/06/2010 10:18:42 AM PDT by opentalk
President Obama criticized Arizona's new immigration law, saying it was caused by inaction in Washington—specifically, the unwillingness of Congress to pass an amnesty law. He's right about the geographic location of the problem, but not about how to start fixing it.
The chief culprit right now is the President himself, not Congress. While there are numerous changes to the law that should be made, the most urgent task before us is to enforce the laws already on the books.
The administration can do plenty without new laws
Repair the Fence
Start with the fence. People sometimes exaggerate the importance of fencing, imagining you can set it and forget it. Actually, it requires constant maintenance and policing, but it does represent an important tool for the Border Patrol. Congress in 2006 required the construction of more than 700 miles of double fencing along the border with Mexico. The administration has said that construction is virtually complete—except that much of the new "fencing" actually consists of one layer of vehicle barriers, which can prevent a vanload of illegals from driving into the country but stop no one from hopping over them. Ending its opposition to real fencing would be the first priority.
Prosecute Illegals
Also at the border, the President could expand Operation Streamline, an initiative to prosecute every illegal alien caught along certain small sections of the border and lock them up for a few weeks or a month before returning them. The goal is to exact a penalty for border-jumping. Most people who are caught are now sent right back with little or nothing in the way of consequences.
Workplace Raids
Of course, border enforcement doesn't end at the border. Making it hard for illegal aliens to find and keep jobs is at least as important, because without the magnet of jobs, illegal immigration becomes much less attractive. The President has all but ended raids at worksites, replacing them with audits of companies' personnel records to look for illegal workers—who are fired, but not arrested. Audits are a great idea, but there need to be raids as well, if enforcement is to be taken seriously. And Obama doesn't need permission from Congress to re-start them.
Check Social Security Numbers
Also in the area of employment, the Social Security Administration and the IRS currently know of hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens who have used fake or stolen Social Security numbers to get jobs or file for tax refunds. But the agencies don't tell anyone, supposedly because of their interpretation of privacy law. Here again, the President could act without action by Congress and instruct his agencies to inform employers when they submit a fake or stolen number from a new employee and insist they take steps to clear up the situation, including ultimately firing. Also, in cases of identity theft, the President must require the agencies to inform all those claiming to have the number that it's being used in multiple locations, so the real owner can take steps to stop it.
Use Local Police
In the area of policing, Congress created in 1996 something called the 287(g) program, which trains local police in the finer points of immigration law and effectively deputizes them as immigration agents. This allows local police to start the processing of immigration violators and enhances federal-state-local cooperation in immigration enforcement. This administration has tried to cut back this program and discourage new enrollments; the opposite is required and is within the administration's existing authority. What's more, the administration can launch less-intensive, perhaps web-based, training in immigration law for local police, so they'll be able to tell the difference between a green card and an employment authorization document, among other things, hugely improving their ability to spot immigration lawbreakers and not hassle legal immigrants or visitors.
Track Visa-holders
And border enforcement isn't even all on our own territory. About one-third of illegal aliens came in legally, with visas, but never left. In 1996, Congress mandated the development of a check-in/check-out system at the border, so we'd know which visa-holders left and which had overstayed. Nearly 15 years later, this still hasn't been completed, and it's not clear anyone in the administration even wants to do this. Again, this is in Obama's power to change on his own, with no new laws.
And a further step back takes us to the visa offices themselves in our consulates overseas.
Although the law specifically says all visa applicants are to be assumed to be potential illegal aliens until they prove otherwise to the satisfaction of our State Department employees, the reality is very different. Too many refusals can potentially jeopardize a young Foreign Service officer's career, while freely granting visa applications to people likely to end up as illegal aliens causes little disquiet from superiors. This, again, is matter of misguided management not inadequate laws.
Our immigration policy is indeed broken, something everyone seems to agree on. But rather than Congress’s passing "comprehensive immigration reform," we need the President to undertake some "comprehensive enforcement reform." And he doesn't need anyone's permission to do that.
Its not really a complicated problem. Secure the border. Enforce the law. And over time the problem resolves itself.
A government that won’t secure the border can’t be trusted with anything more.
Obama is “Misguided”.
Alas, neither did the previous President. ...and the one before that. ...and the one before that. ....and.....
If O won’t enforce immigration laws, O is avoiding his duty by breaking the law!
Workplace raids: Why don’t we call it what it really is, going after the pockets of big business.
Without millions of fraudulent votes, th’ bammer knows he’s a one termer. He needs the illegals.
No; but it isn't the problem that Obama sees. The problem he sees is how to make these people legal...if not by November 2010, then certainly by 2012.
No; but it isn't the problem that Obama sees. The problem he sees is how to make these people legal...if not by November 2010, then certainly by 2012.
If Bush and McCain had their way we would have no chance of getting Obama and the Crats out now.
The flip flop makes him appear to be a puppet.
Flashback: Obama Argues for Deporting Illegals Without Papers
Prosecute Illegals - "RACIST"
Workplace Raids - "They just want to support their families and instill good family values"
Check Social Security Numbers - "Now that's just going to inconvenience legal Americans"
Use Local Police - "Racial Profiling"
Track Visa-holders - "That would bother and offend to many people and would not be worth it. Plus, if they become citizens that's more votes for the dems"
These are all the responses that I have heard from people, I'm sick of it. I live in Arizona about 30 miles from the border. The rest of the country doesn't see the trash they leave behind when they come here illegally, they don't hear about the crime they commit, they don't hear about the medical costs they bring on the tax payer, they don't hear about the attacks on the Border Patrol... It's just a feel good feeling for these spineless, gutless, pieces of crap in office to make it "LOOK" like they want to help these poor mistreated individuals.
Bullshit Barack!
Enforce the law. You swore an oath to the people of the United States of America to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States, and enforce the laws of the land.
Selective law enforcement leads to anarchy.
Any violence, vandalism, deaths, riots and drug deals by illegals need to be Emphasized as — Obama’s Fault -
So if it wasn’t enforced in the past, no need to do so now? I fault Bush 43 and Obama for not securing the border and fully implementing the US Visit program to track and deport visa overstays. After 9/11, it is a matter of national security.
• 15% of Arizona’s state prisoners are illegal immigrants;
• The number of kidnappings in Phoenix, Ariz., has exploded as the Mexican drug cartels have brought their violence North of the border;
• Two Phoenix police officers have been killed in recent years by illegal immigrants;
• A cattle rancher near the Mexican border was recently killed by a drug smuggler;
• Just last week a deputy sheriff was wounded in a gun battle with men suspected of being drug smugglers from Mexico.
Hospitals ,schools and police are also dealing with the large poplulation of illegals.
Ike did. One of our best and a very underrated President.
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