Sneaking In Amnesty

Posted 11/20/2009 07:25 PM ET


Immigration: For illegal immigrants, the good times are back. Workplace raids have been halved, and easily fudged paperwork audits are up. Make no mistake, this is a politically driven precursor to amnesty.

How times change. In 2007, an outraged public made itself heard to politicians by saying "enough" to policies that produced 12 million illegals in the U.S.

It sank the bipartisan 2007 immigration bill, dismissing it as "amnesty," and demanded enforcement of the law.

The result rocked the country. Arrests picked up, and President Bush took on the politically tough task of telling immigrants that reform was off the table until Americans were convinced that immigration laws meant something.

That resolve has crumbled since the 2008 election. Justice Department data show criminal arrests of illegals down 60% in fiscal 2009 to a mere 443 from 1,103 a year ago. Administrative arrests have fallen 68% — to 1,644 from 5,184 — while indictments are down 58% and convictions 63%.

It may be true that illegal immigration from Mexico is peaking, as a recent University of California, Davis, study suggests. It's also true that the U.S. recession has sent many illegals packing.

But the sharp decline in numbers in a single year is stronger than incremental demographics or economics. It signals a policy shift.

President Obama said he would change focus from nabbing illegals to punishing employers. The latter is done through I-9 paperwork audits, which are up 317% on the year. This gives the appearance of enforcement, but it also sets the stage for amnesty and a new crop of Democratic voters.

Paper audits on bosses aren't exactly an effective alternative. They disrupt good and bad businesses alike. And congressional sources tell us these audits are often announced three days in advance, giving ample time for dishonest employers to cover their tracks and get rid of illegal hires. They also free illegals to find work elsewhere in the states instead of head home.

It's "a pander to (immigrants) to win Democratic votes," a House staffer told us. Not only are La Raza types pushing it, so is Big Labor.

Result: the gutting of one of our best tools for discouraging illegal immigration. The new approach will only encourage more.

It also coincides with increasing openness from Democrats about amnesty. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., plans to introduce legislation as early as December to provide a "path" to green cards for 12 million illegal immigrants.

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