Illegal Aliens

                The Senate voted 68-32 on Thursday, June 27, 2013, to overhaul the immigration system for the United States.  The Senate plan claims the requirement of making tough changes to secure the borders of our nation while at the same time creating a path to citizenship for millions of people who have come to our nation illegally.  Why would any sensible person want to reward people who have broken our laws?

                The thousand-page bill was crafted by the “Gang of Eight” – four Senators from each party – and was later amended in order to get enough votes to pass.  Thirty-two Republicans voted against the bill while fourteen Republicans, two Independents, and fifty-two Democrats voted for it.  I am sad to report that both of my Senators – Democrat Mark Begich and Republican Lisa Murkowski – voted for the bill.

                This is the first serious attempt to overhaul immigration law since amnesty was granted to millions of illegal aliens in 1986.  It did not work then, and it will not work this time.  The reason that it did not work and will not work is because our elected officials refuse to secure our borders.  We must secure our borders in order to know who is in our country and why they are here.

                Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) claims, “The House is not going to take up and vote on whatever the Senate passes. We’re going to do our own bill.”  Many Republicans in the House believe that any bill passed by the House will be “compromised” once it is passed and are therefore urging no bill to be passed in the House.

                The Senate bill is a means to grant “backdoor amnesty” to millions of illegal aliens; this part of the bill is simply a plan to generate more loyal followers from the Hispanic community.  By passing this bill, the Senate failed to exercise its constitutional responsibility to block “backdoor amnesty” as well as to support strict enforcement of the federal immigration laws that already exist.  This all advances the plan of the Obama Administration that ignores the Constitution, bypasses Congress and the American people and enacts changes in the regulations that benefit those who come into our nation illegally.

                Congressman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said, “… the Obama administration is cooking the books to make it look like they are enforcing immigration laws, when in reality they are enacting amnesty….”  He added, “… President Obama and his administration continue to circumvent Congress and use executive branch authority to allow illegal immigrants to remain in the U.S.” and have “made clear that it plans not to use but abuse these powers … the Obama administration cannot continue to pick and choose which laws it will enforce.  It is outrageous that they have put illegal immigrants and their liberal political base ahead of the American people.”

                Judicial Watch, Inc. is a non-partisan, non-profit organization with headquarters in Washington, D.C.  It was established in 1994 to serve as a “watchdog” over “our government, legal and judicial systems and to promote a return to ethics and morality in our nation’s public life.”  Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, said, “Since 1994, Judicial Watch has used the courts to hold public officials accountable for their actions. And since 2005, we have blazed an historic trail in challenging state and local `sanctuary’ policies that coddle illegal aliens and undermine our immigration laws, as well as exposing and challenging the Obama administration’s efforts to abuse Executive Authority by granting `stealth’ amnesty to millions of illegal aliens.”

                Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, said, “Among the worst problems facing us in the fight against illegal immigration are `sanctuary’ policies that tie the hands of local law enforcement people.  At one time we had that problem right here in Phoenix where police officers were prohibited from asking about a person’s immigration status or cooperating with federal immigration agents….  Thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court, we now have far greater freedom in protecting our citizens from criminal illegal aliens.”  He added that “taking on sanctuary cities, towns, counties, and states across America” is “the most important fight in the illegal immigration war.”  He thanked Judicial Watch for fighting that battle.

                Although Judicial Watch has won many battles in this war, they are still fighting numerous new ones and request assistance from Americans.  They want to stop the plan for “backdoor amnesty” as well as the Obama Administration’s attempt to “gut” Arizona’s tough illegal immigration enforcement laws.  They also need our help to fight “the Obama administration’s compulsive secrecy (we have initiated nearly 1,000 open-records requests, many related to the Obama administration’s efforts to undercut our laws against illegal immigration and enact amnesty for illegal aliens through the back door.).”

                President Obama received massive support from Hispanic voters in the last election; he and his minions are now “politically driven” to “lock in that part of the electorate for years to come and appease the most radical `open borders’ groups with more payoffs.”  Judicial Watch claims that the Obama Administration are 1) “refusing to prosecute illegal alien sanctuary cities and counties that violate federal law by not cooperating with federal immigration authorities,” 2) “advancing BACKDOOR AMNESTY through `administrative measures’ that bypass Congress and that may very well be unconstitutional,” 3) “attacking and attempting to block tough new state immigration enforcement laws in Alabama and Arizona, and threatening other pro-enforcement states with the same treatment if they also attempt to protect their citizens from the scourge of illegal immigration,’ and 4) “using so-called `prosecutorial discretion’ to dismiss outright potentially hundreds of thousands of legal cases against illegal aliens and permit them to stay in the United States in violation of the law!  It’s obvious now that law enforcement and public safety have taken a back seat to their efforts to satisfy illegal immigration advocacy groups and lock in this important voting bloc.”

                 Judicial Watch is fighting an administration that is out of control but committed to advancing its radical agenda without concern for any loss of constitutional freedoms or costs to American citizens.  Since the federal government uses taxpayer-funded lawyers as well as funds from leftist groups, Judicial Watch is fighting against a financially strong force.  You can register to receive more information from Judicial Watch at this site as well as make a donation to this organization.  Since our elected officials are not interested in protecting the rights of American citizens, we must join the fight against our out of control government and insist on immigration laws that put our rights before the rights of illegal aliens.