OK. President Obama has proclaimed that 4.5 million illegal immigrants will get amnesty.
So, what now?
Well, probably very little will happen before a new President is elected in 2016 with the potential of nullifying Obama's action with his/her own executive order. This is because our immigrant processing is already behind by at least 2 years.
In fact, back in July, 40,000 immigrants filed a federal lawsuit because they had been waiting for up to 2 years simply to get interviewed so that the processing of their asylum requests could even begin. If our immigration service doesn't have enough staff to start processing 40,000 requests, how can they handle 100 times that amount and, fulfill the daunting task of verifying their dates of entry along with verifying that their children are U.S. born? In addition, this must be done with people who, in most cases, speak little or no English. A fact that only slows things down even further because an interpreter or bilingual agent will be needed to facilitate the process.
Essentially, Obama's amnesty proclamation is in name only and impractical to implement without any substantial increases in both budget and staffing.
But, the President doesn't really care that these people won't get processed.
All that he cares about is the pro-Hispanic and pro-Latino politics of his action. Politics which are intended to enhance the Democrats standing among this minority group, and the politics of trying to show Republicans as obstructionists because of any attempts they may make to reverse the order. It is also quite possible that the timing of this has to do with the fact that January is likely to kickoff two years of announced campaigning for the presidency, and President Obama is most likely hoping that the Republican candidates will all denounce his amnesty order and therefore, inflame Latinos against them and any others in their party. However, this action may have done the opposite. A recent poll shows that 37% of Latinos, and nearly half of all Americans disapprove of his order on immigration.
Reference:
Asylum-seeking immigrants file class-action suit against federal government over interview backlog: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/asylum-seeking-immigrants-sue-feds-backlog-article-1.1854548
A new NBC poll shows Latinos do not overwhelmingly support President Obama's decision to thwart Congress on amnesty through executive action: http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2014/11/19/poll-not-all-latinos-approve-of-obamas-executive-amnesty-n1921128
Showing posts with label asylum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label asylum. Show all posts
Monday, November 24, 2014
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
The Blame-Game and Lies About the Border Immigration Crisis
The explosion of unaccompanied children crossing our southern border -- up 92% just this year under Obama's watch -- has caused the President and the Democrats to find anyway possible to blame the Republicans -- and even George W. Bush -- for this crisis.
Obama blames the Republicans for not passing immigration reform. However, there isn't a single, change in the proposed policies -- from either the Democrats or the Republicans -- that would have prevented or stopped this current wave of children from asking for asylum from violent countries like El Salvador, Honduras, or Guatemala.
They are coming here because they are aware of an existing law -- the Trafficking Victims and Violence Protection Act -- which mandates that border agents must accept any child into this country who is seeking asylum from violence in their own country. And, they can't be deported without having a legal hearing as to whether or not they were truly endangered. Even if we added 700 miles of new fencing, any of these children could go to a cross-border checkpoint, and our agents must accept them.
Now, with regard to the Trafficking Victims and Violence Protection Act, there are those who are attempting to blame George W. Bush for its reauthorization in 2008. But, there are three facts that aren't being told about the 2008 law. First, it was originally signed by Bill Clinton in 2000 and had to be renewed several times because it always carried an automatic sunset date. The 2008 renewal not only pertained to human trafficking, but also included a new amendment covering asylum for unaccompanied alien children fleeing violence. That amendment was written and promoted by a Democrat, Senator Dianne Feinstein, in her role as the Chairperson of the Democrat-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee. Bush may have signed it into law but the "unaccompanied rule" was a Democrat-led initiative. Secondly, it expired in 2011 and had to be reauthorized and signed by President Barack Obama in 2013. This 2013 reauthorization seems to have been the impetus for the current wave of children exploding into the crisis we are now seeing.
So, it's pretty simple. If the Trafficking Victims and Violence Protection Act is repealed or amended, the problem would, in all probability, go away. However, none of our politicians -- on either side of the political aisle -- are going to put their name on a law that would heartlessly return children to a life of violence and possible death. Personally I don't see any way of ever stopping this.
However, what I am afraid of, is that many politicians will push for reuniting these children with their parents in "this" country and not their own. If this does happen, it will create a new method for immigrants to gain legal access into the U.S. by simply sending their kids to the border. Thus, they will succeed in bypassing our existing legal immigration laws. And, the surge of aliens into our country will only be amplified.
References:
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victims_of_Trafficking_and_Violence_Protection_Act
Surge in unaccompanied child immigrants spurs White House reaction: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/surge-in-unaccompanied-child-immigrants-spurs-white-house-reaction/
Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Feinstein Amendment to Protect Unaccompanied Alien Children: http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=7b292e44-b306-86d0-a0b4-981389abaf5d
U.S. State Department Guide on Trafficking Laws: http://www.state.gov/j/tip/laws/
Obama blames the Republicans for not passing immigration reform. However, there isn't a single, change in the proposed policies -- from either the Democrats or the Republicans -- that would have prevented or stopped this current wave of children from asking for asylum from violent countries like El Salvador, Honduras, or Guatemala.
They are coming here because they are aware of an existing law -- the Trafficking Victims and Violence Protection Act -- which mandates that border agents must accept any child into this country who is seeking asylum from violence in their own country. And, they can't be deported without having a legal hearing as to whether or not they were truly endangered. Even if we added 700 miles of new fencing, any of these children could go to a cross-border checkpoint, and our agents must accept them.
Now, with regard to the Trafficking Victims and Violence Protection Act, there are those who are attempting to blame George W. Bush for its reauthorization in 2008. But, there are three facts that aren't being told about the 2008 law. First, it was originally signed by Bill Clinton in 2000 and had to be renewed several times because it always carried an automatic sunset date. The 2008 renewal not only pertained to human trafficking, but also included a new amendment covering asylum for unaccompanied alien children fleeing violence. That amendment was written and promoted by a Democrat, Senator Dianne Feinstein, in her role as the Chairperson of the Democrat-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee. Bush may have signed it into law but the "unaccompanied rule" was a Democrat-led initiative. Secondly, it expired in 2011 and had to be reauthorized and signed by President Barack Obama in 2013. This 2013 reauthorization seems to have been the impetus for the current wave of children exploding into the crisis we are now seeing.
So, it's pretty simple. If the Trafficking Victims and Violence Protection Act is repealed or amended, the problem would, in all probability, go away. However, none of our politicians -- on either side of the political aisle -- are going to put their name on a law that would heartlessly return children to a life of violence and possible death. Personally I don't see any way of ever stopping this.
However, what I am afraid of, is that many politicians will push for reuniting these children with their parents in "this" country and not their own. If this does happen, it will create a new method for immigrants to gain legal access into the U.S. by simply sending their kids to the border. Thus, they will succeed in bypassing our existing legal immigration laws. And, the surge of aliens into our country will only be amplified.
References:
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victims_of_Trafficking_and_Violence_Protection_Act
Surge in unaccompanied child immigrants spurs White House reaction: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/surge-in-unaccompanied-child-immigrants-spurs-white-house-reaction/
Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Feinstein Amendment to Protect Unaccompanied Alien Children: http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=7b292e44-b306-86d0-a0b4-981389abaf5d
U.S. State Department Guide on Trafficking Laws: http://www.state.gov/j/tip/laws/
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