Thread: As We See It: Immigration policy a mess

As We See It: Immigration policy a mess
Article Launched: 07/01/2008 05:02:46 PM PDT

The 2008 presidential campaign will probably come down to whether voters believe Barack Obama and the Democrats can better lead Americans out of the economic wilderness or whether a discredited Republican party and Sen. John McCain should be given another chance.

Issues such as Iraq - when do we leave? Is the surge still helping quell violence? - may play second fiddle to the economy.

And immigration policy reform may remain down the list.

With last year's reform measures - backed by McCain and crafted by the now ailing Sen. Ted Kennedy - seemingly yesterday's news, Americans may be wondering if anyone is thinking about what to do about the continuing mishmash of policies and initiatives that can lead to embarrassing and outrageous situations such as what has been happening in San Francisco, as reported Sunday and Tuesday in the San Francisco Chronicle.

The Chron stories by reporter Jaxon Van Derbeken reported on how San Francisco worked to shield eight young Honduran crack dealers from federal immigration officials - but that their efforts backfired when the eight escaped from the Southern California group homes where they'd been sent by the city.

The escape, according to the Chronicle, was the "latest in a series of embarrassments" for city officials who have been protecting drug dealers who are illegal immigrants because the city is a declared sanctuary for undocumented immigrants. Santa Cruz and Watsonville also are declared sanctuaries.

Until recently, the Chronicle reported, San Francisco flew juvenile illegal immigrants convicted of drug crimes back to their home countries rather than cooperate with federal authorities.

After the feds demanded the city halt the flights, the city began housing some of the drug dealers in long-term rehabilitation centers or juvenile detention facilities. San Francisco taxpayers picked up the tab at a cost of $7,000 a month per youth. After the eight crack dealers escaped, the city said it would no longer send juvenile offenders to that group home. But, they say, they are still not going to hand them over to federal authorities, who could ostensibly deport them and ban them from returning to the United States - contrary to what usually happens, according to immigration officials.

San Francisco police say many of the Honduran illegal immigrants may not actually be juveniles, and are working in the city for drug cartels, who threaten to kill their families if they cooperate with law enforcement.

Joseph Russoniello, the U.S. attorney in charge of the San Francisco area, told the Chron he was "flabbergasted that the taxpayers' money was being spent for the purpose of ferrying detainees home. You have to have a perfect storm of dumb moves to have it happen."

Meanwhile, a new poll released late last month shows that more than half of new California immigrants who have green cards allowing them to legally work here lived in the state illegally at some point.

The study by the Public Policy Institute of California goes against conventional wisdom that most legal immigrants wait in their home country for permanent residency papers before coming to the U.S.

We support educating kids who are here and providing medical care to the indigent, but illegal immigration remains the elephant in the public policy room that no one wants to talk about. Taxpayers have a right to know what portion of their money goes to providing services for people here illegally, even outlandish situations such as what's been happening in San Francisco.

And anti-immigrant backlash affects legal immigrants - people who play by the rules, work hard and simply want a better life for their children.

Reforming immigration laws and policies in this country is an economic and moral imperative. It might be a politically thankless issue, but voters need to demand candidates deal with it.


For more on the San Francisco crack dealers' story, go to http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 11HGVL.DTL

or, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 111QM7.DTL

http://www.mercurynews.com/centralcoast ... ck_check=1

Meanwhile, a new poll released late last month shows that more than half of new California immigrants who have green cards allowing them to legally work here lived in the state illegally at some point.

The study by the Public Policy Institute of California goes against conventional wisdom that most legal immigrants wait in their home country for permanent residency papers before coming to the U.S.

Say what??? So we already have a hidden, secret, behind the scene amnesty in the U.S.!!!