A Nation of Laws?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C74955%2C00.html ^ | January 08, 2003 | By Bill O'Reilly

[EaglesCry]

A Nation of Laws?

We are a nation of laws, except when politicians don't want to enforce them. That is the subject of this evening's Talking Points Memo.

Last night on The Factor, former New York City police commissioner Howard Safir admitted that for the past 15 years, the city has defied federal law and not reported criminal illegal aliens to the federal government.

Think about that. The largest city in the country basically allows criminals who come here from other countries to roam the streets even after they're arrested. Situation is the same in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago, Houston, and plenty of other cities.

So what we have here is a complete breakdown of law enforcement in the area of illegal immigration. Federal authorities can't stop the flow of illegals across the border and will not use the military to help out. Local authorities will not enforce federal law.

So criminals from other countries can come here and hurt Americans, and even after they do that, they're still allowed to roam around. It's incredible.

Remember, two of the five illegals accused of raping a New York City woman last month served time for violent offenses. The were released from prison. The INS wasn't even informed.

This is simply unacceptable behavior on the part of our elected leaders from the president on down. Unfortunately, it will probably take another 9/11 disaster to force changes in our corrupt system.

The blame lies everywhere. Both Republicans and Democrats refuse to protect Americans because they want votes from the groups that are pro-immigration.

And the press is responsible too. Very few editorial pages are demanding immigration reform and the securing of our borders. Instead they pander to special interests, they dominate the elite media, which sees itself as defending the downtrodden, i.e., illegal aliens.

Talking Points has documented the danger to you and the incredible expense of failing to control illegal immigration. In California, for example, 12 percent of those currently in state prison are illegal aliens. In Texas, the number is 8 percent. And there's a good chance when these criminals are released from those state prisons, the INS won't even be informed. Thus the thugs will have the freedom you and I enjoy.

Congress is now back in session, but real homeland security is not even on the radar screen. What we continue to get are reorganizations, bureaucratic shuffles, and lame excuses. America is at war, but our defense here is porous and irresponsible.

Politicians like Mayor Bloomberg in New York and Mayor Hahn (ph) in L.A. must enforce the law. The gang rape of that poor woman in Queens is on the mayors who continues to allow criminal illegal aliens to violate federal law.

There are no two sides to this story. Americans must demand that our self-interested and cowardly leaders protect us.

[bankwalker]

Unfortunately, it will probably take another 9/11 disaster to force changes in our corrupt system.

Unfortunately, I agree.

[weikel]

If some omnipotent skynet like computer were there to enforce every law without fail then everyone would be in jail( well until the juror pool ran dry). There are so many laws now that its impossible to walk down the street without breaking a bunch of them.

[dirtboy]

If some omnipotent skynet like computer were there to enforce every law without fail then everyone would be in jail( well until the juror pool ran dry). There are so many laws now that its impossible to walk down the street without breaking a bunch of them.

That is an absurd comparision to this story. This is a matter of local law enforcement arresting someone for a crime, finding out that they are here illegally, and not informing the INS to start deportation procedures. No constitutional violations and no infringement of probable cause are involved.

[dirtboy]

ping

[Flashman_at_the_charge]

Good to see the immigration issue slowly bubbling up.

[weikel]

Oh im definitely in the deport em all camp but the premise of that it should be donebecause its the law is faulty. We should do it because its a matter of national survival.

[caisson71]

O'RILE-y wants us to arm our borders. We wouldn't need to do that if local officials did their jobs. This is more of a local enforcement problem than a federal enforcement problem. Had the locals done their job in the first place, we may have resolved our INS problems sooner. But than again, O'RILEy is on this federal witch hunt.

[madfly]

All illegal males from ages 18 - 26 can be charged with a felony (and prevent non-citizens from becoming a citizen) if they have not registered with Selective Service. If they would enforce that law, it would not be in violation of immigrants rights, which is where so much of the lobbying comes from. It would be a law that applies to ALL males of all color from all countries, who are not exempt for certain visas.

[INSENSITIVE GUY]

We are a nation of TOO MANY LAWS!The"TEN COMMANDMENTS"cover everything that need be covered!

[HiJinx]

You've missed the point of the discussion. O'Reilly is blasting local politicians...the mayors of LA, NY, Chicago, Miami, et. al...for refusing to even give the Fed-rul Gub'mint a chance to screw this up.

It is written and posted policy in local jurisdictions nationwide that LEOs will not, can not, must not determine the immigration status of criminals with a view toward turning them over to INS for deportation.

A Mexican National totalled my son's car in an intersection two months ago. Local cops were not allowed to ask him if he was here legally...he was, but that's not relevant. They couldn't ask, and if he was an illegal, they couldn't have done anything about it. This is a local policy, not a national one.

[gubamyster]

O'RILE-y wants us to arm our borders. We wouldn't need to do that if local officials did their jobs. This is more of a local enforcement problem than a federal enforcement problem. Had the locals done their job in the first place, we may have resolved our INS problems sooner. But than again, O'RILEy is on this federal witch hunt.

I saw this show last night. I don't agree with everything O'Reilly supports, but he has been spot-on in regards to immigration, and he is one of the very few in the media to talk about the issue. He deserves a lot of credit for that.

This terrible incident in NY is both a Federal and local issue. Had the Feds secured the borders and protected the citizens in the first place, these illegals never would have entered the country, or at least never made it to NY. Once they were convicted of crimes, the local LEA should have reported them to the INS. However, since many local LEA's have a policy to not coordinate w/ the INS this did not happen. This is the fault of the local mayor who signed the policy as much as the Feds for not requiring the locality to enforce the laws they are sworn to uphold. The Feds withhold funds when states don’t go along with other programs.

I’m glad O’Reilly is on a federal witch hunt on this issue and any other issue. I wish more people would hold our elected officials accountable.

[Spiff]

All illegal males from ages 18 - 26 can be charged with a felony (and prevent non-citizens from becoming a citizen) if they have not registered with Selective Service. If they would enforce that law, it would not be in violation of immigrants rights, which is where so much of the lobbying comes from. It would be a law that applies to ALL males of all color from all countries, who are not exempt for certain visas.

You're right as to the requirement for illegal aliens to register with Selective Service. I just saw this on the INS Website:

Federal law requires that men who are at least 18 years old, but not yet 26 years old, must be registered with Selective Service. This includes all male non-citizens within these age limits who permanently reside in the United States. Men with "green cards" (lawful permanent residents) must register. Men living in the United States without INS documentation (undocumented aliens) must also register.

On the Selective Service website I found mention of the penalty for not registering:

What is the penalty for not registering?
If you do not register, you could be prosecuted and fined up to $250,000 and/or be put in jail for up to five years. Registration is also a requirement to qualify for Federal student aid, job training benefits, and most Federal employment.

I found the following information as well:

Are illegal alien males required to register?
Yes. All immigrant alien males, other than those admitted on nonimmigrant visas, must register, whether or not they have a green card.

ALIENS **	REQUIRED TO REGISTER?
Lawful non-immigrants on visas (e.g., diplomatic and consular personnel and families, foreign students, tourists with unexpired visas (Forms I-94, I-95A), or those with Border Crossing Documents (Forms I-185, I-186, I-444).	No
Permanent resident aliens.	Yes
Special (seasonal) agricultural workers (Form I-688).	Yes
Special agricultural workers (Form I-688A).	No
Refugee, parolee, and asylee aliens.	Yes
Undocumented (illegal) aliens.	Yes

NOTE: Immigrants who did not enter the United States or maintained their lawful non-immigrant status by continually remaining on a valid visa until after they were 26 years old were never required to register. Also, immigrants born before 1960 who did not enter the United States or maintained their lawful non-immigrant status by continually remaining on a valid visa until after March 29, 1975 were never required to register.

Also, if an illegal alien over the age of 26 ever resided in the U.S. while he was between the ages of 18 and 26 and did not register with Selective Service before he turned 26 he can be denied U.S. citizenship. This is something that should be brought up if the losers in Washington try to push through another blanket amnesty.

[HiJinx]

Excellent Research Bump!!

[Regulator]

That's right: the blanket amnesty extended to them would require an amnesty not just for breaking immigration laws, but for a laundry list of felonies: failure to register for selective service, falsification of federal forms, failure to pay taxes, and probably 20 other violations that I can't think of.

Think that any administration would extend the same courtesy to Americans?

[judgeandjury]

There are so many laws now that its impossible to walk down the street without breaking a bunch of them.

LOL! Not even close to being truthful, but at least I got a good laugh out of it.

[madfly]

Thanks for details, uh, now can we have that in Spanish, Spiff! :)

[EBUCK]

Unfortunately, I agree.

Unfortunately you would be wrong. Another 9-11 will only bring more "Patriot" acts not more security and certainly not more border security.

EBUCK

[madfly]

I followed your link and clicked on spanish.

http://www.sss.gov/spanishpage.htm

Check this out. First of all, I could not copy and paste (view partial source) anything from that page to post here.
Second, I took the link to babelfish and the translation came back in spanish.

Help. Need translation of what looks to be for Hispanics Only!

[caisson71]

My point is that we should be looking at enforcing our laws, laws already on the books, instead od yelling for the military at our borders.