Talk about bad timing! For the third time in three years, President Obama is on a ten day vacation at tony Martha's Vineyard. Disregarding soaring debt, high unemployment, home foreclosures, two costly wars and a tumultuous stock market, Obama took wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha to hang out with the rich and famous on their 28-acre leased estate.
Before he left on vacation, Obama had a nasty surprise for unemployed Americans and citizens who believe in enforcing the nation's laws. According to new rules issued by the Department of Homeland Security, illegal immigrants facing deportation will now be allowed to stay in the country indefinitely and get a work permit. Break the law; be rewarded with a job opportunity.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano presented the new policy as one that will allow the government to focus on deporting only illegal immigrants who are criminals or who pose a threat to national security. But given the broad nature of the Homeland Security edict, it's clear that the true purpose is to grant a backdoor amnesty to an unlimited number of illegal aliens.
In her letter sent to Senator Richard Durbin, who sponsored various versions of the DREAM Act, and 20 of his like-mined colleagues, Napolitano outlined the new system.
Working groups from the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice will develop specific criteria to identify so called low-priority removal cases that will be considered for what they refer to as "prosecutorial discretion." In other words, federal officials will use their own "discretion" to decide which aliens that, under the law, should be deported, will instead be allowed to remain.
Included in the discretionary category will be individuals present in the U.S. since childhood, DREAM Act candidates, minors, the elderly, pregnant and nursing women, victims of serious crimes, veterans and members of the armed services and individuals with serious disabilities or health problems.
In short, virtually every illegal immigrant -- young or old, victim or veteran, healthy or disabled -- has an excellent chance of being exempted from deportation.
Predictably, some Democrats including U.S. Representatives Zoe Lofgren, Luis Gutierrez and White House Intergovernmental Affairs Director Cecila Munoz, a former National Council of La Raza Senior Vice President, hailed Obama for what they described as his compassionate, sensible approach to a realistic immigration policy.
In his retort, Republican House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith said, "The Obama administration should enforce immigration laws, not look for ways to ignore them."
What motivates Obama's rash decision is unclear. Perhaps he's responding to Gutierrez's "Change Takes Courage" campaign that threatens Obama with the frequently made charge that that Hispanic voters will stay home unless the president acts swiftly and boldly to end deportations.
Of course, that's speculation on Gutierrez's part. The facts are that Obama's presidency is in deep, profound trouble. To get re-elected he needs Independent voters of whom there are millions more than there are Latino voters. Obama's duplicity angers most independents.
Nevertheless Obama, defying the Constitution and insulting the majority of Americans who favor immigration law enforcement, has cast his lot with amnesty and open borders proponents. Obama's gamble is a big one that he may rue come November 2012.
Joe Guzzardi is a syndicated columnist and a Senior Writing Fellow for Californians for Population Stabilization. He can be reached at JoeGuzzardi@CAPSweb.org.
samkat posted at 11:27 am on Wed, Aug 24, 2011.
Obama may gain the vote of legal Hispanics but at what cost from the Independents and disaffected democrats? His ill timed decision will probably cost him big time from the unemployed Americans who value jobs more than illegal aliens.
Smitty posted at 2:13 pm on Wed, Aug 24, 2011.
I voted for Obama because to elect another republican into office would be insanity. What little bush & CIA chenny did to this country should have had them brought up on TREASON charges as they completely deglected the majority of Americans needs, and catorred to the top 1% instead. Neither of the Bush leadership invested back into America, nor did Reagan. BUT! At least the last dirty little bush cared enough about our borders to defend it with military means. That is absolutely what we need at this time! Look, we are a land of laws. The ellusion of this charactor has already been tainted by what the past few republican presidents have done to America. President Clinton DID invest back into America by providing easier means for education, and a more secure means for small businesses to survive for up to two years. The republicans hated the fact that he taxed the filthy rich - not the middle class as much, or the poor. The filthy rich could not stand it, and did everything within their means to damage Clinton. I liked the guy, he genuinely cared about the regular guy. But Obama has sold out to big business as well! It isn't the poor or middle class that want the illegals in this country - so who is left? The controllers of corperations that don't like having to pay a fair days wage for a fair days work - they are the ones that want the illegals in, and I despize the fact that Obama made this rule (somehow - I thought it took 3/4's vote from congress to pass something like this). Each and every illegal is a criminal for not processing through the legal channels to be allowed into this country. I've heard a few exuses about how much it costs - and the length of time that it takes, but none of that is genuinely relevant. It is how our four fathers did it - and so it should be the same for them. The Hispanic illegal aliens have literally destroyed our economy by taking advantage of foodstamps, medical expenses, and HUD housing programs. So, each and every one of them are criminals weighing our system down. The republicans think that by punishing our American weak, damaged, and or elderly - that the deficit will be corrected. They are so wrong that it is not funny. They have only harmed our children: school cut backs, food cut backs, and medical cut backs. It will end up blowing up in their faces in a few years of failure. But - again, we COULD deport all the illegals back to their country - and save Trillions of dollars throughout the next decade!
A_Rose_By_Any_Other_Name posted at 4:12 pm on Wed, Aug 24, 2011.
Caesar has spoken, and the law has been broken, and now tyranny rules. Oh what king shall you proclaim next till we can all thrust our knives into you when next comes the election? Sharpen thy knives for 2012 comes soon.
Accuracy posted at 7:51 am on Thu, Aug 25, 2011.
Joe Guzzardi concluded: "Nevertheless Obama, defying the Constitution and insulting the majority of Americans who favor immigration law enforcement, has cast his lot with amnesty and open borders proponents. Obama's gamble is a big one that he may rue come November 2012."
-----------------------------------
Obama's decision for the plan to block deportations is “Backdoor Amnesty” for potentially millions of illegal aliens comes following complaints from immigrant communities that President Obama and the Obama administration have been too tough on illegal aliens.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano outlined the plan for federal immigration authorities to review 300,000 deportation cases of illegal immigrants. Acting under extreme agitation from left-wing open border groups, “Napolitano announced the plan in a letter to a group of senators who support revamping the immigration system,” AP reported.
But will Obama and the Liberal left-wing open border groups regret the “Backdoor Amnesty” next year before the 2012 presidential election? Liberal Democrats and immigrant communities (for illegal aliens) do not think so.
Masterrogue666 posted at 9:01 am on Thu, Aug 25, 2011.
Joe: I couldn't agree more with your article. Obama has hitched his wagon to the group, and that will reflected in the next election. I just hope that the USA can survive the damage that he's doing to us right now.
Smitty: I agree with some things that you wrote. However, IMHO the good things he did was overshadowed by the fact that he lied, and was impeached. He only remained President because the Senate (which had recently become controlled by the Democrats) acquitted him. Andrew Jackson was impeached and acquitted as well. Nixion resigned, which is what Cliton SHOULD HAVE DONE, if he had any respect for the people of the United States.
davidflucier posted at 1:32 pm on Thu, Aug 25, 2011.
Blah, blah, blah...illegal immigrants...blah, blah, blah.
So suggest a solution and show me the costs and the benefits relative to the pluses and minuses of the current situation.
Joe, try to say something intelligent... something other than your totally Old Testament and paternalistic perspective.
Some people have suggested mass genocide and murder by shooting men, women and children at the border. Others suggest "round em up" and "ship em out", while others said we should just put em all in prison.
As soon as you can give me a full and comprehensive cost benefit analysis by a nonpartisan study group, I'll begin to listen. Otherwise, spare the free world your blathering and rants.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 8:44 am on Fri, Aug 26, 2011.
Social Security Disability Fund will go bankrupt in less than 5 years.
Social Security Fund for Seniors will go bankrupt in 10-15 years or less.
The States have no money and are downsizing State Government and giving less and less to the Schools.
46Million Americans are on the US Food Stamp program.
And what does President Barack Hussein Obama do....he "Emancipates" the 20 Million Illegal Aliens from Mexico (67%) and other Countries. He orders with a stroke of the pen that only murderers, Rapists and Terrorists are to be arressted and sent back to where they came from after serving time in jail.
The rest of the 20 Million Illegal Aliens (probably 30-40 Million) are allowed to take jobs away from Americans, steal American's identities and commit other "misdeamenor crimes" and yet not be deported back to where they came from.
If this "Illegal Alien Emancipation by Presidential Directive" is not and...."IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE"....I don't know what is.
NothingButTheTruth posted at 9:13 am on Fri, Aug 26, 2011.
davidflucier, that would be difficult to do blah, blah, blah. Hard to say what the cost advantages would be if all illegal immigration ended tomorrow. It would be substantial to say the least. At one time I heard Arizona had 400k illegals living here. So if only 100k of them were holding down jobs, (Americans wont do) lol and we got rid of them, a clear 1/8 of our 800k unemployment figures would drop. Imagine the benefits of 100k Arizonans dropping from the unemployment lines suddenly. I'm sure you will acknowledge that California is ten times worse than Arizona so the impact there would be ten times better there. If there are 20 to 40 million illegals living in the USA and if say only ten million of them are working, while the rest just suck our welfare services dry, that would mean a ten million reduction in our national unemployment figures and untold drop in welfare expenditures. Even a liberal illegal alien sympathizer like you must see a tremendous advantage to ridding our nation of this invasion of illegals. So do the world a favor and spare us your blathering and rants.
Leon, with black unemployment at 16%, Obozo cares more about getting reelected that he does about finding jobs for his own race. Just imagine how little he must care about the rest of us. His emancipation proclamation if gone unchallenged as it seems to be at this point, could have the result of bringing down America at an even faster rate. Destroy from within. A stated goal of his very good friend Bill Ayers. Destroy from within to build a better (socialist) tomorrow. Must be what Obozo meant by hope and change.