The second Civil War

Immigration reform has been a long simmering issue that successive administrations have failed to address. Not since the Reagan administration passed the Immigration Control & Reform Act (ICRA) of 1986 has any party given serious consideration to enforcing the nation’s immigration laws. When the ICRA was passed it granted amnesty to an estimated 3 million illegal immigrants on the assumption that such an amnesty would once and for all “fix” the problem of immigration.

But here we are some 25 years later and approximately 20 million more undocumented individuals illegally in the U.S. and no action in sight. On the contrary, it has become necessary for the states to pass their own immigration laws, as clearly, the federal government is unprepared to secure the nation’s borders, despite this being one of the federal government’s basic mandates. Administrations following Reagan assumed the question of immigrants entering the U.S illegally to be solved and paid no further attention. Certainly Bush 1 wasn’t concerned, while Clinton gingerly skated around the issue whenever it arose. Bush 2 was aware that the problem was back in spades, but was also totally uninterested in finding a lasting solution. He only paid lip service to securing the borders because of 9/11. Besides, he was a close friend of Mexico’s president, Vicente Fox, who frowned on any efforts by America to secure its borders.

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The current administration has gotten tough on border security, as homeland security chief Janet Imbecilano has beefed up border security. Only problem with that is that it’s on the wrong border, as hundreds of ICE agents were moved from America’s southern border to secure the Canadian border in an effort to what?--- Make sure that spate of illegal Canadian farm workers is kept out? Border security among the southern border has gotten so bad that the states are now forced to take action. If it isn’t for illegals sneaking in to take advantage of America’s generous social safety net with free healthcare and free education, then they are robbing homes along the border, smuggling in drugs by the ton and having shootouts in broad daylight, putting hapless U.S. citizens at risk. But none of this seems to make a difference with the Washington crowd, as it really doesn’t affect them. Arizona’s tough new anti-illegal immigration bill, SB 1070, was challenged by the Feds in the courts as soon as it was passed, and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals put the law on hold, agreeing with the Obama administration that the Arizona law interfered with federal enforcement prerogatives. A portion of that law was recently upheld by the Supreme Court, which ruled that it was constitutional for Arizona to withhold business licenses from companies that were caught repeatedly hiring illegal aliens. The state of Alabama went one further and passed a law that made it criminal offense to be an illegal alien in that state and mandated that the police had a duty to verify a person’s immigration status while conducting traffic stops or arrests. Of course, as it did with the Arizona law, the Obama administration immediately challenged the law in federal court and was soundly trounced by Judge Sharon Blackburn, a Bush 1 appointee, who held that most of the provisions of the law were in fact constitutional. Naturally, Eric Holder’s Justice Department appealed Judge Blackburn’s decision to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, a decision from which is imminent. So here we have the federal government aggressively litigating states that in frustration pass their own immigration laws because the federal government is actively engaged in not enforcing these laws. In fact, the federal government is so not interested in enforcing its own immigration laws that John Morton, Director of Immigrations & Customs Enforcement (ICE), has instructed ICE field agents not to deport illegal aliens if the have family in the U.S. or if they have ties to the community. He has also authorized ICE agents to cancel deportation orders, extend voluntary removal, adjust status and grant work permits to illegals. Does this look like the federal government is interested in enforcing its immigration laws? No? Given that the Holder Justice Department recently took 25 states to federal court to force them to print bilingual ballots, it can only be assumed that there is an agenda at work. It doesn’t take a prognosticator with extraordinary powers to see that this has everything to do with winning over the Hispanic vote whose demographics promise a rich and possibly long-lasting group of loyal voters. As a nation, America has degenerated to the point where the national interest no longer coincides with the interest of those holding political office. On the contrary, the most important consideration of many politicians today is staying in office. If that means thwarting the will of the people, so be it. America is now engaged in a second Civil War. Rather than guns and cannons facing off across blood soaked fields, it’s state and federal lawyers firing legal briefs in efforts to prevail. The battle lines are clearly drawn, whether it’s enforcement of immigration laws, the enforcement of election laws or mandating that every American must purchase health insurance, there is indeed a plan to fundamentally change America. The consequences of this plan are quite possibly more far-reaching than those of the first Civil War.