If you pay close attention to the Obama administration, you’ll soon realize that when it comes to illegal immigration, the law is basically whatever he decides on any given day. One day, he’s pushing his immigration agents to stop deporting anyone who hasn’t actually tried to overthrow the U.S. government. The next day, he’s criticizing San Francisco for their sanctuary city policies. And before you know it, he’s rounding up Central Americans for deportation.
This, by the way, is one of the reasons we have the rule of law. Instead of letting our country slip under the confusing and slip-shod rule of a single idiot, we are supposed to have a president restrained by the Constitution. Unfortunately, Obama – opposed by Republicans who have to consult eHow.com before getting dressed in the morning – has managed to expand the power of the presidency.
So let’s see what the immigration policy is today.
In selling his executive actions, President Obama has often said that the point of amnesty is to let his immigration agents focus on deporting criminals and not those aliens who are just trying to make a living. To some, this sounds reasonable. But even if you think that’s a wise approach to the problem, you might be surprised at how flexible the definition of “criminal” is under this administration.
For instance, let’s look at Edwin Mejia. At the age of 16, the Honduran came into the country, only to be immediately picked up by Border Patrol agents in Arizona. But because of Obama’s policies, Mejia was released and sent to live with his family in Nebraska. This was in 2013.
In January of this year, Mejia, in a drunken street race, smashed into 21-year-old Sarah Root. Root subsequently died as a result of her injuries. Mejia was arrested, but he posted bond before ICE officials could come collect him. Now, Republican Senator Ben Sasse wants to know why immigration agents failed to detain Mejia, who is now a fugitive. He sent a letter to ICE Director Sarah Saldana, demanding answers.
He probably didn’t expect the one he got.
“Even if he were convicted of the offense, motor vehicle homicide – driving under the influence, the conviction would not constitute a crime of violence under the immigration laws, and consequently, would not constitute an aggravated felony,” Saldana wrote. “The conviction would not render him subject to mandatory detention, nor would it significantly impact his eligibility to apply for relief or protection from removal.”
Saldana, taking into consideration the realities of Mejia’s case, admitted that “further enforcement action would have served an important federal interest.”
Yeah, a fat lot of good that does us. If this is the kind of BS that results from “prosecutorial discretion,” then maybe we should just go back to enforcing the laws as written, eh?
