About immigration: a word to the wise

MoonHowler

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Today I read some unpleasantness on a local blog about illegal immigration. The blogmeister(s) made the mistake of quoting F.A.I.R. For the uninitiated (read Baptism by Fire), F.A.I.R. is the Federation for American Immigration Reform. F.A.I.R.’s objectives are to secure the border (southern), to stop illegal immigration and by their own admission, limited the number of legal immigrants into the country.

Here’s the reality of the situation. Supervisor Candland, whether rightly or wrongly, is associated in many people’s minds with the blog where I read the diatribe about unaccompanied minors and the remarks and report by F.A.I.R. He does not want to be associated with F.A.I.R. nor does he want to appear to be anti-immigration.

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Corey, you could have fooled me!

MoonHowler
No Latino voters for Core-man
No Latino voters for Core-man

I got another beg letter from Corey.  He wanted money.  I am not sure why he thinks I am his friend.  Part of his  email contained the following:

The media is at it again. Just two days ago, a columnist from the Richmond Times Dispatch labeled me “an immigrant basher”.

It is no doubt this statement arises from my leadership of the nation’s toughest crackdown on criminal illegal immigration

In Prince William County, if you are arrested for a crime and it is determined that you are here illegally, then our law enforcement officers hand you over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

I need your help in this fight to combat the never ending liberal media attacking our conservative values.  A donation of $25, $50, $100 would go a long way to help me spread my message of conservative governance.

Every person who is being arrested is checked, regardless of age, sex, race, etc. If upholding the Rule of Law makes me “an immigrant basher” than let them name call, I am willing to deal with such petty insults for the safety of Prince William County’s 425,000+ residents. Since we enacted our illegal immigration policy, there has been a 47.8% drop in violent crime and we have handed over more than 6,000 criminal illegal aliens to ICE.

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Senator Sessions Belittles DHS Secretary Napolitano

MoonHowler

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano was called before the Senate  Judiciary Committee to get dressed down by this esteemed governing body and to answer a few questions about immigration,  TSA,  and other things that fall under the Department of Homeland Security.  Not everyone was on their best behavior.

According to the Washington Times:

Homeland Security Secretary Janet A. Napolitano says her department has the resources to deport about 400,000 aliens each year, and the new guidance her department issued will only change the makeup of who gets deported.

“There are 10 million or so illegal immigrants probably in the country and the Congress gives us the resources to remove approximately 400,000 per year,” she said, testifying to the Senate Judiciary Committee. “The question is, who are we going to prioritize. And we’re very clear. We want to prioritize those who are convicted criminals. We want to prioritize those who are egregious immigration and repeat violators. We want to prioritize those who are security threats, those who have existing warrants.”

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Hazleton, PA Immigration Law Struck Down

MoonHowler

A Hazleton, PA law that targeted illegal immigrants was struck down by a federal appeals court today.  The law wass actually passed in 2006 but has been held up in the courts.  The Hazleton, PA law also severed as a model for various laws, ordinances and resolutions around the country.

The Hazleton Law allowed for pulling the business licenses of those who hired illegal aliends.  Additionally, landlords could be fined if they rented to people out of status.

The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled that the law infringed on the federal government’s exclusive power to regulate immigration.  Once again the supremacy clause is the underlying cause for state and local laws to be voided. 

According to the NY Times:

The appeals court in Pennsylvania found that Hazleton had clearly overstepped its bounds.

“It is of course not our job to sit in judgment of whether state and local frustration about federal immigration policy is warranted,” the judges wrote. “We are, however, required to intervene when states and localities directly undermine the federal objectives embodied in statutes enacted by Congress.”

Hazleton “has attempted to usurp authority the Constitution has placed beyond the vicissitudes of local governments,” the panel of three judges concluded unanimously.

Another appeal is planned by the city.

Border Security and Environmental Protection on a Collision Course

MoonHowler

In a remarkably candid letter to members of Congress, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said her department could have to delay pursuits of illegal immigrants while waiting for horses to be brought in so agents don’t trample protected lands, and warns that illegal immigrants will increasingly make use of remote, protected areas to avoid being caught.

The above quote from the Washington Times makes one take note. In fact, Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) has been crusading to shore up the gaps between DHS border control and environmental rules coming from the Dept. of the Interior. He confirms his displeasure over border initiatives to install towers associated with the virtual fence being denied because of wilderness designation.

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Janet Napolitano Calls for Immigration Overhaul

MoonHowler

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has called for an overhaul of US immigration policy early next year. The move is expected to rekindle the immigration flames, which could be problematic in an election year.

Additionally, opponents and conservative media is billing any reform initiative as giving illegal immigrants amnesty. The Huffington Post quotes Napolitano:

Ms. Napolitano said the immigration landscape has changed sharply since 2007, when attempts at a comprehensive overhaul failed because many members of Congress lacked confidence in the government’s ability to enforce existing laws, she said. Immigration overhauls backed by the Bush administration and some congressional leaders from both parties foundered in part because critics portrayed them as rewarding illegal immigrants with “amnesty” for violating U.S. law.

Since then, government statistics show a 23% drop in the number of illegal immigrants caught trying to enter the U.S. in the past year, and a 67% decline since 2000, a trend Ms. Napolitano attributed to the weak economy and stronger enforcement. The government has also stepped up efforts to audit employers’ compliance with immigration laws, she said.

“These are major differences that should change the immigration conversation,” said Ms. Napolitano. Without congressional action, “what I fear is we will see another wave of illegal immigration” when the economy improves, she said. “When Congress is ready to act, we will be ready to support them.”

The Washington Times, a conservative newspaper, puts a different spin on Secretary Napolitano’s words:

Declaring success in border security and immigration enforcement, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Friday that the federal government has done its work and now it’s time for Congress to pass a broad bill to legalize illegal immigrants.

Her speech signals President Obama will make good on his promise to push Congress to pass an immigration bill next year – adding yet another hot-button issue to an already long and contentious list.

Ms. Napolitano said members of Congress and voters who balked at an immigration bill two years ago, fearing a repeat of the 1986 amnesty that only made the problem worse, can be assured this time is different. She said in those two years, the flow of illegal immigrants across the border has dropped dramatically and the government is doing more to catch fugitive aliens inside the U.S.

I have tried for several days to find a direct quote that sounds like what Ms. Napolitano was quoted as saying in the Washington Times. I have not been able to find it. It sounds incendiary to me and quite a stretch from what actually was said.

Here is the link to what DHS Secretary Napolitano did say. It is too lengthy to post here.

County Eyes Federal Immigration Policies

MoonHowler

 

Apparently Prince William County is keeping a watchful eye on the White House and its policy on immigration, since President Obama took office, according to the News and Messenger.  What is being specifically watched is whether the 287(g) program will continue to be supported under the department of homeland security.  Certain supervisors fear that the program will lose its federal funding and basically cease to exist.  And if 287(g) is no longer funded as part of ICE, that leaves PWC without its program. 

 

The article includes a brief explanation of how the county partners with the federal government:

 

The 287(g) program is how the county jail and police partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to apprehend and process those with criminal backgrounds. Since July 2007, ICE has issued 1,606 detainers for those arrested in the county and 1,506 have been processed, according to county statistics received last week.  

The two supervisors who are most tied to the federal program are Chairman Corey Stewart and Gainesville supervisor John Stirrup.    Stewart explained the possible ramifications: 

 

“This is what I think is going to happen,” said Corey Stewart, R-at large, chairman of the Board of County Supervisors, looking at the national scene. “I think the administration is going to shift its enforcement focus from illegal immigration to the employer.”

Moreover, he continued, depending on federal budget decisions, the 287(g) program could lose funding. And if that happens, its fate in Prince William is jeopardized.

“If they defund it, it stops our program dead in the water,” Stewart said, rating the chances for such to occur at 50 percent. “It’s just based on the budget and the [actions of] Democrat members of Congress.”

A GAO report and Congressional testimony call for tighter control over the 287(g) program.  According to the written testimony of March 14 of Richard Stana, director of Homeland Security and Justice, to the House Committee on Homeland Security:

Specifically … guidance on how and when to use program authority is inconsistent, guidance on how ICE officials are to supervise officers from participating agencies has not been developed, data that participating agencies are to track and report to ICE has not been defined and … taken together, the lack of internal controls makes it difficult for ICE to ensure that the program is operating as intended,”

Stana’s statements were linked to a January GAO report entitled, Immigration Enforcement: Controls over Program Authorizing State and Local Enforcement of Federal Immigration Laws Should Be Strengthened

John Stirrup also expressed his concerns to the News and Messenger:

“I’m hearing the administration is going to use these [GAO] studies as a basis for defunding or reducing the 287(g) program locally,” said Supervisor John Stirrup, R-Gainesville, who was the original author of the county’s immigration enforcement policy. “We could seek assistance from the state … but it could be problematic.”

Meanwhile, county elected officials will probably have to take the wait and see approach.  Many local government people have quietly suggested that the problem with these federal programs is the very thing these 2 supervisors seemed to fear.  PWC has put much time, money and reputation into these programs.  At any minute, the Feds could pull the plug.  Should that happen, everything goes up in smoke.  All the training and county resources dry up and there is not plan to deal with criminal illegal immigrants.  Manassas City, who also participates in 287 (g) at the jail, was not quoted. 

Perhaps this county ought to look at a new motto:  Only fund and pay for that over which you have total control.

 (Just a thought….)