rssExecutive Pay Is One Thing. Next Stop: Immigration
Wednesday, February 04, 2009 at 1:22 pm
- 17 Comments
Among the many hot-button issues that President Obama weighed in on during his presidential campaign and followed up on in his first week in office, immigration was decidedly NOT one of them. But as more information comes to light about how the Bush administration used law enforcement to appease the GOP’s anti-illegal immigration wing — and the nation’s economy continues to hemorrhage jobs — the Obama administration will likely be forced to start coming up with some answers.
The New York Times’ Nina Bernstein has a revealing story today about how the Bush administration sent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to raid immigrants’ homes, claiming it was targeting dangerous terrorists. In fact, documents produced in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by a Cardozo Law School clinic reveal that the agency in 2006 changed its internal rules and forgot all about terrorists. Instead, it started raiding the homes of any immigrant who had overstayed a visa. In fact, according to a report released today from the Migration Policy Institute, 73 percent of the nearly 97,000 people arrested by special ICE “fugitive operations teams” between 2003 and early 2008 were immigrants with no criminal records. In many cases, there wasn’t even an immigration order issued against them.
Add that to some fascinating statistics I came across recently from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC — Syracuse University’s database on federal government activities — that shows more than half the federal prosecutions brought by the Bush administration were against immigrants — up from just 18 percent in the first year of the Bush presidency.
So now we see that the Bush administration targeted immigrants for all sorts of reasons: not just suspected terrorism, as Bush officials had claimed, but apparently to mollify the party’s anti-illegal immigration hard-liners. As Cardozo law professor Peter Markowitz told Nina Bernstein: “It looks like the law enforcement strategy was hijacked by the political agenda of the Bush administration.”
Hmmm, sounds familiar. We already knew that was happening in the Department of Justice; now we learn politics took over ICE as well.
Still, Obama’s going to have a hard time letting up on immigrants now. Consider, for example, the recent furor about bailed-out U.S. companies hiring foreigners to do professional jobs. Americans facing job loss have never been all that concerned about the interests of immigrants.
I’ll be covering immigration starting soon for TWI, and will be watching closely to see how the new administration handles what’s sure to be a difficult balancing act.
17 Comments
Comment posted February 4, 2009 @ 11:18 am
As many Americans lost their jobs, it's understandable to have a tougher immigration policy. But there are a few professional fields such as nursing have a different story. The United States will require at least 1.2 million new RNs by 2014 to meet the nursing demand. This would include 500,000 RNs to replace RNs leaving the field, and another 700,000 to meet the growing demand for nursing care. In fact, the shortage of RNs and increased workload for current nurses is a threat to the quality of patient care. Because of the nursing shortage, facilities are unable to expand services or prepare for an emergency response. Sometimes, hospitals have been forced to close beds and wings at their hospitals due to the nursing shortage. U.S.-Educated Foreign Nurses would be one of solutions for the nursing shortage.
Comment posted February 4, 2009 @ 11:49 am
OBAMA and his wife Michelle have made the concern for America's middle-class families and American workers a main priority….so he needs to have the courage to stop pandering to the illegal immigrant special interest groups and put an immediate moratorium on H1-B visas, implement E-Verify nationwide, send troops to the Borders, and ensure that all criminal illegal alien fugitives are apprehended, arrested and deported ASAP. No bail-out or stimulus funds to anyone unless they are creating jobs and verifying that workers hired are U.S. citizens and legal residents ONLY.
Comment posted February 4, 2009 @ 12:20 pm
Being an immigrant isn't prosecutable. People are prosecuted for breaking the law. If you are covering immigration, it fairly obvious that it will not resemble journalism. Obama promised to stop the incentives for illegal immigration by cracking down on their employment and then, as one of his first acts, suspended a rule about to go into effect that would have required federal contractors to use E-verify, the most effective tool to stop illegal employment.
Comment posted February 4, 2009 @ 1:31 pm
Obama is putting the employment of illegals ahead of 12 million unemployed Americans!!!
Mandatory use of eEverify, by federal contractors, which was supposed to go into effect Jan. 15, then Feb. 20, has now been postponed, by Obama, until May 21, 2009.
This means that illegals can take the jobs generated by the stimulus package!!!
Jobs that legally, and rightfully, belong to Americans!!!
Fight back Americans!!!
E-verify needs to be mandated for all employees, not just new hires!!!
E-verify needs to be mandated for all employers!!!
It is known that illegals are working at, at least, 8.7 million jobs. Jobs that they illegally obtained using forged, and/or stolen documents!!!
E-verify will purge those illegals from the work force!!!
Stand up Americans, and fight back!!!
Do not allow Obama, and the Democrats, to get away with this!!!
12 million unemployed Americans need those jobs!!!
Tell your Senators to mandate E-verify for all employers, and all employees!!!
Shame on Obama!!!
Shame on him!!!
Comment posted February 4, 2009 @ 2:03 pm
Illegal aliens are not immigrants, they are foreign intruders. It seems to me you call them “immigrants” and complain about them being apprehended and deported because you think they should be allowed to stay permanently with a green card.
So why do you support this? Is it because 80% of illegal aliens are from Latin America? Do you feel as the La Raza racists do that Latinos are “La Raza Cosmica”, a superior “Cosmic” race created by God? Is that why you think the US should give Latin Americans a 30 to 1 immigration advantage, because they are superior to all other races?
Well I disagree with that, I agree instead with Thomas Jefferson that everyone is created equal, and that everyone in the world should have an equal chance at becoming an American, rather than most green cards being given to one race like you do.
Comment posted February 4, 2009 @ 2:20 pm
To the idiot speaking about which he knows nothing..(below)
La Raza is a phrase or word simply to refer to our brothers. Nothing more than what the Black Panthers were for the African Community.. Not to the level of white supremecist thinking they are the only race that should exist.
La Raza stands for our Race. Which is a MIX race of european blood and indian blood!!!
Dont mess with us, yes we are deadly..Got it from the French..
If you see Univision, a hispanic channel, you will notice most of the upper class consists of white mexicans..No surprise. While the bottom end of the barrel consists of the indian blood.
Comment posted February 4, 2009 @ 3:05 pm
The Far Left's dream of amnesty is by no means a push over item, just due to the Democrats being in majority now.
You think 06 was a malay with the American public enraged with the amnesty bill presented then?
Wait till now, when the majority of the working class Democrats who voted for Obama – are and would be adversely affected by the dupe idea of amnesty.
06 will look like a tea party, compared to the next uprise of American citizens against amnsety, and it will truly be bipartisan in the fact , both Dems and Republicans alike will not allow it.
Comment posted February 4, 2009 @ 5:02 pm
Well, Here's my view.
Now I can't say the ILLEGAL ALIENS are completely to blame for the shape of our economy, but they are a BIG part of the problem. The ILLEGAL ALIENS send BILLIONS upon BILLIONS out of this Country every year, money we will NEVER see again. Does this help our economy?
How about the BILLIONS the American taxpayers fork out for the ANCHOR BABIES, the schooling of them, the medical care and the list goes on, and on, and on.
How about the MILLIONS upon MILLIONS paid to jail ILLEGAL ALIENS for the crimes, then the cost to deport them. Does this help our economy?
Then you have these activist groups, the Catholic Church and the ACLU that want AMNESTY for these ILLEGAL ALIENS. It would be absolute suicide for this Country if AMNESTY were granted to the 20 million or so ILLEGAL ALIENS. We have more and more people out of work everyday and they want to add another 20 million to this Country? I say, “NO”!
If AMNESTY were ever granted to these 20 million ILLEGAL ALIENS, you can bet big money that 3 years from now, there would be ANOTHER 3-5 million ILLEGAL ALIENS demonstrating on our soil for AMNESTY, and if you think things are bad now, you wouldn't believe how bad they will be.
An end MUST come to this illegal immigration. The perfect tool we have so far is E-Verify. It MUST be used by ALL businesses and Government Social Services. EVERY employee must be checked! If they are illegal, they are to be dismissed!
I believe it is time for all 50 States to pass a State law, like Arizona, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina and a few others. It is time for these ILLEGAL ALIENS to go back to their home Country and get out of this Country. The problems they are causing will not go away until the ILLEGAL ALIENS are out of this Country. I think that is plain to see.
Comment posted February 4, 2009 @ 10:46 pm
This author is puposely conflating illegal aliens with immigrants, which are very different. And what's ICE supposed to do if they come across an illegal alien — who in addition to being in the country illegally quite possibly is an identity thief and drives without insurance — but who doesn't have a violent criminal record in the US…let them walk?? I think not. That would be both unwise and foolish.
And concerned citizens will be watching Ms. Napalotano closely to make sure she doesn't use her stated priority of criminal alien deportation as a smokescreen for undermining workplace enforcement. Workplace enforcement and E-Verify are needed now more than ever to free up jobs for US citizens — including of course African-Americans and second generation Mexican-Americans who are intentionally ignored in this debate by pro-illegal alien ethnocentric special interests.
Comment posted February 5, 2009 @ 5:20 am
According to this writer, an illegal alien should not be arrested unless he or she is suspected of being a terrorist.
That is not the law. Even if an illegal alien's only “criminal act” is entering the country illegally or overstaying their visa, that person has commited a crime. It does not matter whether theire is an immigration order out on them or not, they have committed a crime. They are subject to deportation. If this writer is going to be covering immigration, she needs to least start out by being honest instead of showing her bias. An illegal alien is not an immigrant as so casted in this article.
Comment posted February 5, 2009 @ 7:14 am
This writer is a bleeding heart and endangering the country and doesn't even realize it.
1986 Amnesty was a COMPLETE failure, because Enforcement was not REALIZED and now we have more ILLEGAL ALIENS ( Criminals) than every before!
“in the first year of democratic majority rule, Nelson Mandela’s government expelled almost 60,000 undocumented migrants, most of whom were from neighboring Mozambique. ” – President Obamas role model. “South Africa has shown that a country determined to put its own citizens’ interests first will deport illegal aliens in numbers. Yet its example is ignored by those who say “it can't be done”. The answer is: “Yes it can”. It can even be done creatively.”
We need the SAVE ACT and E-verify used for every business and NOT Amnesty for criminals.
E-verify does not discriminate against RACE, Religion, SEX or physically capability only your Citizenship and your LEGAL right to be and work in United States. If we can stop Predatory business owners from hiring then the Illegal Aliens will not Stay and return to their native Countries.
This ISSUE is not about RACE, but Governments Federal/State/LOCAL not doing their jobs, because big and small business owners want cheap workers and no labor laws to bother with……Its called GREED!
http://www.numbersusa.com
http://dontspeakforme.org/
Comment posted February 5, 2009 @ 7:16 am
The only RACISTS here are the single RACE agenda GROUPS like La RAZA, Mecha, Aztlan and ETC….Whose main goal is take our Western States back to Mexico.
Comment posted February 5, 2009 @ 8:09 am
Hey right on man..peace brother…hey can we bring in millions more people for you to protect? We can afford it, especially with the new S-Chip bill whcih gives them all FREE health care….After all we have a bottomless Barrel of Money in your closet man…..you are so very generous to let us have all your money to support the entire world…Hey man…you are da BOMB!!!
Comment posted February 5, 2009 @ 10:43 am
Look at funders link below and you discover that this isn't really a journalistic organization and certainly isn't independent, just as I suggested earlier. It is funded by left wing foundations and other entities such as the SEIU and unsurprisingly reflects their view of the world. Journalism requires a dedication to the truth and I don't think you will find it here.
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