Illegal immigration surges again with no Obama border security
by THE WASHINGTON TIMES - - Wednesday, August 12, 2015
What a difference a year makes. Or does it? Last summer the border was overrun by a surge of children from Central America, sent northward by their parents on the news that President Obama had relaxed enforcement of immigration laws. This summer the parents are making the hike, too.
There may be a difference, but the bottom line is the same: The president still has not secured the border, and is not likely to do so. Americans who want to preserve the opportunities that immigrants come here for must choose their next president with greater care than they did last time.
A top official of the Department of Homeland Security concedes in court filings that in July illegal immigrants surged over the border en masse once more. Ronald Vitiello, the deputy chief of the Border Patrol, says the number of families risking the trek has grown, defying the seasonal swelter of 100-degree days along the border. Our Stephen Dinan reports that the number might not top the tens of thousands of unaccompanied children who were taken into custody at the border a year ago, but the heat is on Homeland Security officials to avoid a repeat of the humanitarian crisis that exploded when U.S. Border Patrol officers, who ordinarily patrol the border, were assigned baby-sitting duties.
U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee has given close scrutiny to living conditions for immigrant families at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities, focusing on rules governing security, lighting and temperature. If she prohibits further detention of illegal immigrant families, they would be dispatched to Border Patrol sites that are not equipped to handle the volume, either. This could lead to release of detained families, giving them a pass to the United States. The illegals are thus encouraged to crash the border family by family.
The Obama administration insists that it’s attempting to slow the flow, claiming, in the words of Gil Kerlikowske, commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, that “there are no ‘permisos’,” or free passes. The 11 million illegals already in this country know otherwise. When the Obama administration sues Arizona for attempting to enforce federal immigration laws, it’s clear to folks on both sides of the boundary that President Obama’s goal is to keep the border porous, not secure.
By his contradictory policies, Mr. Obama is hoist on his own petard, but he likes the view from there. Perpetuating the flood of potential voters would lock in his redistributionist policies for the foreseeable future. He promised to transform the United States, and like it or not this is what gullible voters asked for.
The opening Republican debate of the 2016 presidential season demonstrates that a tougher immigration enforcement will be a litmus test for serious candidates. Sen. Marco Rubio told of the frustration that the legal immigrants feel. He described receiving calls from some who have been waiting in the legal line for 15 years. A new Rasmussen poll finds that 60 percent of likely voters think the government is not aggressive enough in deporting illegals. Only 12 percent think deportation is too aggressive, and 16 percent think it’s about right.
As long as nothing changes there should be no free pass for any politician who tries to tip-toe around the border-security issue. Americans have had enough, and they have had enough of evasive politicians who deal in deceit.
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