Last night, the President did more than bring illegal immigrants “out of the shadows” with his executive order. With the stroke of a pen, he made it harder for law enforcement officials to protect Americans from illegals who stick their heads out of the shadows to commit violent crimes.
As part of his executive order, President Obama suspended the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Secure Communities program. Secure Communities required the FBI to automatically send the fingerprints of anyone arrested by state or local police to DHS for a cross check; DHS could then screen the arrestee to see if the person was either a criminal alien, or someone who fell under civil immigration enforcement priorities.
The program was responsible for identifying and deporting hundreds of thousands of dangerous criminals who are here illegally and already in custody is no more.
Amazingly, Democrats in Texas are celebrating the move:
“The existing misnamed ‘Secure Communities’ program is being terminated and replaced,” [U.S. Representative Lloyd] Doggett said in a statement to the American-Statesman. “With (the Department of Homeland Security) focusing on threats to national security and public safety, some immigration employees will likely be reassigned to higher priority duties. Future DHS requests to local law enforcement for release notification will likely focus on those who have committed a serious felony.”U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement currently asks that local law enforcement agencies keep people in custody for an extra 48 hours after they have posted bail or otherwise been cleared for release if they’re suspected of being in the country illegally.The program has drawn criticism from activists who argue it leads to the deportation of nonviolent undocumented immigrants, and the Austin City Council in June passed a resolution in opposition to Travis County’s participation in the program.
Having lived in Texas (and I will say I didn’t truly understand the immigration crisis until I saw it firsthand,) I don’t understand how Texas Democrats can possibly condone a policy that makes it more difficult for the police to control violence in border states. It’s indefensible.
This is beyond political correctness run amok. This isn’t “liberalism” in the way that a plastic bag ban or big soda ban is “liberalism.” This is something completely different, and it’s endangering the lives of both civilians and law enforcement officials.
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