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June 21, 2011 Harris Poll: 2/3 Favor Ending Birthright Citizenship "When Americans were told that some pregnant foreigners arrange trips to the United States specifically timed so that they give birth during their stay, making any child born an automatic U.S. citizen, two thirds of U.S. adults say the Constitution should be changed to no longer allow for this (67%) with over two in five saying it definitely should be changed (45%). This perspective is shared across all political parties and philosophies," says the Harris Poll organization.
Victor Davis Hanson: The Self Defeating Nature of Illegal Immigration "In the American Southwest, open borders, unassimilated illegal immigrants, ethnic and tribal chauvinism predicated on racial solidarity (after all, La Raza, Inc. is not complaining about the deportation of the Korean or Ugandan who overstays his visa or agitating for an open immigration policy with Kenya), a culture of grievance and complaint, all embedded in a contempt for federal law -- all that leads to enclaves that resemble more the country abandoned than sought out. In other words the entire therapeutic vision of illegal immigration would lead to a society to which illegal immigrants would not wish to flock," says Victor Davis Hanson in a commentary at Pajamas Media.
The Administration's Bad Faith Immigration Policy By Ira Mehlman, FAIR Media Director Would any immigration legislation that grants amnesty to current illegal aliens in exchange for future commitments to enforce our immigration laws be worth the paper it is printed on? Leaving aside the obvious question of why we should feel compelled to cut a deal with the people who have broken our laws before our government will even promise to try harder in the future, the answer is a resounding, unequivocal, categorical, NO! As if any more evidence was needed, a June 17 memo issued by John Morton, director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, under the bureaucratic heading, "Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion Consistent with the Civil Immigration Enforcement Priorities of the Agency for the Apprehension, Detention, and Removal of Aliens," makes it clear that the American people cannot trust this administration to enforce our immigration laws. The memo brazenly asserts the discretionary authority of ICE to disregard the immigration laws enacted by Congress by simply not enforcing them. The unmistakable message - explicitly laid out in six pages - is that the Obama administration will only enforce the laws it wants to enforce. Morton lists 19 "relevant factors" in determining whether "ICE officers, agents and attorneys" should exercise what the administration claims to be its "prosecutorial discretion" not to enforce immigration laws. As extensive as Morton's detailed list of reasons for not enforcing immigration laws is, the director leaves open the possibility that he does not want to discourage others from finding more reasons not to enforce the law. "This is not an exhaustive list and no one factor is determinative," Morton notes. Thus, there is no reason for anyone to believe that any promises made in exchange for securing amnesty for current illegal aliens would ever be kept. Under this administration, "comprehensive immigration reform" is not merely a euphemism for amnesty; it is a call for Congress to write still more laws that the executive branch will feel free to ignore.
Challenges to Indiana, Georgia Laws Heard in Court "U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker grilled a deputy attorney general for roughly an hour about how exactly the state could enforce the legislation without running afoul of federal law and international treaties. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana is challenging two main provisions of the law: the use of consular identification cards and the arrest of people whose immigration status is questionable," the Indianapolis Star writes. "A federal judge on Monday asked tough questions about the potential fallout from Georgia's new anti-illegal immigration law but said he would rule later on whether it should be halted," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. "Based on [Judge] Thrash's line of questioning, the Republican author of the law said Monday he wouldn't be surprised if the judge grants opponents of the law a preliminary injunction and halts the measure. But Rep. Matt Ramsey,R-Peachtree City, said he was confident the state would appeal to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta and win."
ICE Memo on Secure Communities ICE has posted a PDF version of the "prosecutorial discretion" memo from director John Morton regarding changes to Secure Communities demanded by illegal alien supporters. "While ICE may exercise prosecutorial discretion at any stage of an enforcement proceeding, it is generally preferable to exercise such discretion as early in the case or proceeding as possible in order to preserve government resources that would otherwise be expended in pursuing the enforcement proceeding," says Morton.
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX): E-Verify Fairly Applies to All Employees "E-Verify, a Web-based program that helps ensure jobs are reserved for citizens and legal workers, is not discriminatory. It doesn't ask race, creed or ethnicity. E-Verify merely checks workers' names and Social Security numbers to verify that they are eligible to work in the United States," says Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) in a letter to Roll Call. "You have to show your Social Security number to visit the doctor, go to the bank or buy a home. It makes sense that businesses would use the same identification to ensure they have a legal workforce by checking the legal status of their employees. E-Verify does not discriminate based on race, but it does distinguish between legal and illegal. And there's nothing improper or unfair about that."
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