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Trump’s Crystal Ball, and the Supreme Court, Part 2

We conclude ret. Judge John Wilson’s exclusive article on President Trump’s move to use armed forces resources for border protection.

The argument used by those seeking their injunction against President Trump’s move to use armed forces resources is that  “… absent an order permanently enjoining the contemplated border barrier construction in the areas designated…its members ‘will suffer irreparable harm to their recreational and aesthetic interests.’ The Court agrees and finds that Plaintiffs have shown that they will suffer irreparable harm to their members’ aesthetic and recreational interests in the identified areas absent injunctive relief…Plaintiffs here provide declarations from their members detailing how Defendants’ proposed use of funds reprogrammed (from the military budget) will harm their ability to recreate in and otherwise enjoy public land along the border.” 

In other words, Judge Gilliam thought it more important that members of the Sierra Club be able to recreate on public land, rather than allow the government to prevent approximately half a million people annually from crossing into the United States from Mexico (this estimate is based upon a total of 396, 579 people being apprehended in 2018 alone, with a peak of 1.64 million in 2000).

As President Trump predicted, on July 3rd, the Ninth Circuit held that the Plaintiffs had a strong chance of success, and refused to lift the stay imposed by Judge Gilliam.  But as the President also predicted, this ruling was reversed by the Supreme Court on July 26th, less than one month later.

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 The point of disagreement between the Ninth Circuit and the Supreme Court lies in the ability of the Plaintiffs to bring their claim.  The Appellate Court had ruled that the “Plaintiffs may bring their challenge through an equitable action to enjoin unconstitutional official conduct, or under the judicial review provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), 5 U.S.C. § 701.”  However, the Supreme Court stated, without explanation, that “the plaintiff’s have no cause of action to review” the actions of the government officials implementing the President’s National Emergency declaration.  

  Showing his hand, Justice Breyer (a Clinton appointee) issued a separate decision, in which he agreed in part that a stay of Judge Gilliam’s order was warranted.  However, he still believed that the government should not be allowed to begin construction on the border wall – instead, he believed that the funds for construction should be frozen while the appeal proceeded through the Ninth Circuit.  

 Regardless of Justice Breyer’s dissent in part, the effect of the Supreme Court’s decision is to allow the Trump administration to appropriate funds originally earmarked for use by the Defense Department, to the use of the Department of Homeland Security, for the construction of the border wall.

 The litigation in the California District Court, and the appeal in the Ninth Circuit will continue.  But the heart of the matter was an effort to prevent the Trump administration from using funds commandeered from the military budget for the building of the border security fence along the Southern Border.  By reversing the stay issued by the lower courts, the Supreme Court has authorized the government to go forward with construction of the wall.  Even the New York Times had to admit that this ruling was a victory for President Trump. 

  While the ACLU tried to claim that this was no “big victory” for the President, the amount now available for construction as a result of the ruling of the Supreme Court is estimated at 2.5 billion dollars, a significant portion of the total 6.7 billion the Trump Administration intends to divert in its effort to build that wall.     

Of particular significance is the President’s ability to read the path his National Security proclamation would take.  Donald Trump knew that his opponents would seek the intervention of a court friendly to their views; he also knew that in the end, the US Supreme Court would support his actions.  In the final analysis, the President’s enemies continue to underestimate his abilities, to their detriment.  

Photo: Border Patrol rescuing migrant (U.S. Border Patrol photo)

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Trump’s Crystal Ball, and the Supreme Court

This article was prepared exclusively for the New York Analysis of Policy & Government by ret. Judge John Wilson.

On February 15 of this year, President Trump held a press conference, during which he stated his intention to declare a National Emergency along the Southern Border of the United States.  His actions were made necessary by the failure of Congress to authorize sufficient funding for the construction of a barrier between Mexico and the United States.  Later that same day, drawing upon his power to declare a National Emergency, the President issued a proclamation, The opening section of stating that:

“The current situation at the southern border presents a border security and humanitarian crisis that threatens core national security interests and constitutes a national emergency.  The southern border is a major entry point for criminals, gang members, and illicit narcotics.  The problem of large-scale unlawful migration through the southern border is long-standing, and despite the executive branch’s exercise of existing statutory authorities, the situation has worsened in certain respects in recent years.  In particular, recent years have seen sharp increases in the number of family units entering and seeking entry to the United States and an inability to provide detention space for many of these aliens while their removal proceedings are pending.  If not detained, such aliens are often released into the country and are often difficult to remove from the United States because they fail to appear for hearings, do not comply with orders of removal, or are otherwise difficult to locate.  In response to the directive in my April 4, 2018, memorandum and subsequent requests for support by the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense has provided support and resources to the Department of Homeland Security at the southern border.  Because of the gravity of the current emergency situation, it is necessary for the Armed Forces to provide additional support to address the crisis.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, So, the medicine of http://www.learningworksca.org/about/ viagra ordination same power will perform as the same way. It learningworksca.org buy levitra helps in curing sexual weakness and increases the stamina stabilizing hormones. It improves muscle mass, viagra cost in india http://www.learningworksca.org/resources/in-the-news/ energy, libido, sperm count and motility and helps to gain harder erection for pleasurable lovemaking. Bear with us also if we seem to feel pharmacy cialis that we have imperfect kids…..and perfect grandchildren. including sections 201 and 301 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), hereby declare that a national emergency exists at the southern border of the United States, and that section 12302 of title 10, United States Code, is invoked and made available, according to its terms, to the Secretaries of the military departments concerned, subject to the direction of the Secretary of Defense in the case of the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.  To provide additional authority to the Department of Defense to support the Federal Government’s response to the emergency at the southern border, I hereby declare that this emergency requires use of the Armed Forces and, in accordance with section 301 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1631), that the construction authority provided in section 2808 of title 10, United States Code, is invoked and made available, according to its terms, to the Secretary of Defense and, at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense, to the Secretaries of the military departments.” 

During his remarks, the President made a prediction:  “we will have a national emergency, and we will then be sued, and they will sue us in the Ninth Circuit, even though it shouldn’t be there, and we will possibly get a bad ruling and then we will get another bad ruling, and then we will end up in the Supreme Court, and hopefully we will get a fair shake and win in the Supreme Court.” 

  In large part, the President’s prediction has come true.

Shortly after the President issued his proclamation, the Sierra Club and a group called the Southern Border Communities Coalition, represented by the ACLU, brought suit in California to halt the use of money drawn from the military’s budget to fund construction of the border wall.  At the end of June, Judge Haywood Gilliam of the Northern District of California granted an injunction, ruling that the Plaintiffs were likely to succeed on several grounds, including the fact that Congress had denied the requested funds, and there were no “unforeseen military requirements” that would justify the use of funds from the military budget to construct the wall. 

The Report Concludes Tomorrow

Illustration: Pixabay

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Repealing Citizenship

The very concept of citizenship is being questioned by American progressives, who have debated whether the census should include a question on citizenship status.

John Eastman, writing for Fox News, notes that “…a question about citizenship status was part of nearly every decennial census conducted from 1820 to 1950; that it was asked on the long census form from 1960 to 2000; and that it has been part of the annual American Community Survey ever since that survey’s inception in 2005.”

The U.S. Supreme Court, which has temporarily blocked the question, is expected to rule further. is expected to rule on the issue. There have been numerous attempts to overturn the Trump Administration’s decision to include the question, which it announced in 2018.

The White House notes that the question is vital to enforcing the 1965 Voting Rights Act. A count that includes noncitizens could violate the “One Man, One vote” principle by providing districts with significant numbers of noncitizens more representation in Congress than districts with fewer noncitizens. Opponents have challenged the decision extensively. There is a deeply partisan divide, since Democrat districts stand to gain substantially by including noncitizens

The question has been the subject of multiple legal challenges since it was announced in early 2018.

The very concept of an actual, enforceable border has been questioned. National Review’s Jeff Duncan reminded readers that Hillary Clinton has called for a borderless hemisphere.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has compared the detention of illegal immigrants to Nazi concentration camps. Rep. Yvette Clarke, (D-N.Y), said that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is the  “Gestapo of the United States of America.”

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Advocates claim their position is philosophical: the idea that all humans should be treated the same, regardless of whether they have made contributions to U.S. society. But in reality, their position is largely and bluntly political: new immigrants to the United States overwhelmingly vote Democrat, and so there is great gain to be made in encouraging mass numbers of new entrants. Corporate leaders also benefit from the downward pressure it places on wages.

The politics of the census goes beyond election year. Areas with heavy concentration of illegals would gain representation in Congress if all residents were counted. Eastman. explains that “…the scope of non-citizen population, and particularly illegal immigration population varies dramatically from one state to another and even from one congressional district to another. To allow non-citizen illegal immigrants to determine representation undermines the very notion of “consent of the governed,” as more representatives would then be allocated to states with large numbers of illegal immigrants, diluting the voting strength of citizens in other states.”

Some have openly advocated allowing noncitizens to vote. Ron Hayduk, in a Jacobin piece, wrote: “all residents are part of the political community in which they live and should therefore have a say in the local, state, and federal laws to which they’re subject.”  He ignores the fact that citizens have a stake in the future of their nation.  Noncitizens will vote based only on the basis of personal gain. 

Some have urged the provision of benefits and privileges intended for (and paid by) citizens and legal residents. Indeed, Progressives want to expand coverage of those benefits and privileges. Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) wants to provide Medicare for illegals. California will soon provide medical coverage for illegals.

A 2017 report from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIRUS)  outlines the extraordinary fiscal burden imposed on U.S. taxpayers by illegal immigrants. “At the federal, state, and local levels, taxpayers shell out approximately $134.9 billion to cover the costs incurred by the presence of more than 12.5 million illegal aliens, and about 4.2 million citizen children of illegal aliens. That amounts to a tax burden of approximately $8,075 per illegal alien family member and a total of $115,894,597,664. The total cost of illegal immigration to U.S. taxpayers is both staggering and crippling. In 2013, FAIR estimated the total cost to be approximately $113 billion. So, in under four years, the cost has risen nearly $3 billion. This is a disturbing and unsustainable trend.”

The Report Concludes Tomorrow

Illustration: Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency

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Illegal Alien Impact on 2020 Election

The 2020 presidential elections are rapidly approaching, and the threat of compromising the integrity of the system due to illegal alien voting is again a grave concern. Discussion of illegal immigration issues, however, is rapidly met with false charges of racism.

Indeed, despite a stunning influx of up to 100,000 people crossing the southern border illegally each month, we are told that there is no crisis.

The  Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIRUS)  outlines the extraordinary fiscal burden imposed on U.S. taxpayers by illegal immigrants. “At the federal, state, and local levels, taxpayers shell out approximately $134.9 billion to cover the costs incurred by the presence of more than 12.5 million illegal aliens, and about 4.2 million citizen children of illegal aliens. That amounts to a tax burden of approximately $8,075 per illegal alien family member and a total of $115,894,597,664. The total cost of illegal immigration to U.S. taxpayers is both staggering and crippling. In 2013, FAIR estimated the total cost to be approximately $113 billion. So, in under four years, the cost has risen nearly $3 billion. This is a disturbing and unsustainable trend.”

The crisis is more than just dollars and cents. A General Accounting Office study of 55,322 incarcerated illegal aliens  found that they were arrested at least a total of 459,614 times, averaging about 8 arrests per illegal alien. Nearly all had more than 1 arrest. Crimes included murder, assault, rape, fraud, burglary, counterfeiting, and drug offenses.  

There is not much of a mystery why Democrats are so eager to cover up the harsh realities of illegal immigration. Numerous analyses, including one by the Center for Immigration Studies, find that new immigrants consistently and solidly support Democrat candidates.  “A comparison of voting patterns in presidential elections across counties over the last three decades shows that large-scale immigration has caused a steady drop in presidential Republican vote shares throughout the country. Once politically marginal counties are now safely Democratic due to the propensity of immigrants, especially Latinos, to identify and vote Democratic. The partisan impact of immigration is relatively uniform throughout the country, even though local Republican parties have taken different positions on illegal immigration….[this] Improve(s) Democratic electoral prospects.”

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 A 2004 study by the Federation for American Immigration Reform  noted:

“There is evidence that noncitizens are being registered and casting votes, but due to the laxity in checking the eligibility of registrants and voters the full extent of the problem is not known. One of the most extensively documented cases of illegal voting was in California in 1996. Loretta Sanchez, a Democrat, defeated Republican incumbent Robert Dornan by 984 votes. Dornan called for an investigation of alleged illegal voting by noncitizens. According to Congressional Quarterly…’Task force Chairman [U.S. Representative] Vernon J. Ehlers, R-Mich., said investigators had found concrete evidence of 748 illegal votes by noncitizens…’“A lack of attention to the phenomenon of noncitizen voting and a failure to impose penalties against those who cast votes fraudulently has rendered laws against such activity meaningless. It is a federal crime to vote illegally.”

The enthusiasm evident in Democrat-controlled states to allow illegals to obtain drivers’ licenses is a key part of this drive to change the balance of political power. The Obama Administration took action which had the effect of increasing the likelihood of  illegals being able to register to vote. The Democratic Party has consistently opposed reasonable and necessary measures to prevent voter fraud.

In a 2015 letter to the Obama Administration, Ohio’s Secretary of State, Jon Husted noted: “…recent executive actions could jeopardize their integrity by making it much easier for people who are not U.S. citizens to illegally register and cast ballots. “The source of the problem is that the recent executive actions enable millions of non-U.S. citizens to obtain valid Social Security numbers and driver’s licenses. Under federal law, any person with a valid Social Security number or driver’s license can register to vote, so long as they attest to their eligibility to do so. As a result, the recent executive actions dramatically expand the opportunities for illegal voter registrations in Ohio and other states by non-citizen voters who have valid forms of identification and who willingly or negligently affirm their eligibility to vote. This problem is especially serious in the context of third-party voter registration drives, which are prevalent in Ohio and other states. Such drives occur outside of the presence of election officials who could explain that citizenship—not mere lawful presence—is a fundamental requirement for registering to vote and who can caution non-citizens against erroneous attestations. “In short, by enabling millions of non-citizens to access valid forms of the types of identification required to register to vote, the recent executive actions have increased the risk that non-citizens may illegally register to vote and vote in our elections…”

Illustration: Pixabay

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When is a National Emergency Not a National Emergency?, Part 2

This article was prepared by the distinguished retired judge, John H. Wilson.

Though there have certainly been questions raised by the declaration of a National Emergency by past Presidents, there has never been the firestorm of opposition that came with this proclamation.  In an article published before the declaration was made, Yale Law Professor Bruce Ackerman asserted that President Trump, and any troops working under his direction, would be committing a federal crime if the president diverted “funds from the military budget to pay for a wall, and to use military personnel to build it.”

The Professor’s position was based on the general prohibition from using the military to enforce domestic law, however, his opinion was written prior to the issuance of the actual proclamation, which provides for the use of the “Ready Reserve” (National Guard, for instance) and not the active military.  Still, not having a legitimate basis to oppose the declaration of a National Emergency has not stopped anyone from making their opposition known.  Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CAL) claimed that President Trump didn’t have the authority, and that the idea was a “non-starter.”  

 A coalition of 18 states have filed a lawsuit against President Trump to challenge the declaration of a National Emergency under these circumstances.  Predictably filed by the Attorney General for California in a California federal court, the text of the complaint reads more like a political manifesto than a legal document, and ironically, the only states participating in the lawsuit that are actually on the Southern Border are California and New Mexico.  The rest are the usual Trump resistors, such as New York, Illinois and New Jersey (states which also happen to have large Sanctuary Cities). 

In turn, the Attorney Generals of Texas, Louisiana and Indiana have asserted that President Trump’s invocation of his power to declare a National Emergency is lawful.

 Regarding the States’ legal action, as President Trump stated at his February press conference when he declared his intentions, “we will have a national emergency, and we will then be sued, and they will sue us in the Ninth Circuit, even though it shouldn’t be there, and we will possibly get a bad ruling and then we will get another bad ruling, and then we will end up in the Supreme Court, and hopefully we will get a fair shake and win in the Supreme Court.”

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Of more interest is the action taken by Congress in response to the President’s declaration.  Invoking their power to terminate a National Emergency under Section 202(a)(1) of the 1976 Act, first the House, and then the Senate voted to block the proclamation.  The measure passed both houses, however, the Senate vote fell short of the two-thirds majority necessary to block the President’s veto.   That veto came the very next day, the first of the Trump Presidency. Congress plans to hold a vote to override the veto, but it does not appear as of this writing that there are sufficient votes to override.

Lost in the weeds of this ongoing drama between Congress, the Sanctuary City States, and the President, is the reason for the declaration of a national emergency.  The facts speak for themselves; In 2018, the US Citizenship and Immigration Service received approximately 106,000 new asylum requests from those admitted legally, compared to only 25,500 in 2008; and Immigration courts received approximately 160,000 asylum requests in 2018, compared to only 42,000 in 2008.  Further, in the last 6 months of 2018, arrests of illegal immigrants along the Southern border increased by 4,000 percent.    There is no reasonable view of this evidence that will not support the declaration of a National Emergency at the US-Mexico border.

Thus, we are led back to the question with which we began.  Why would the declaration of a National Emergency over a flu epidemic be greeted with support, while the mobilization of forces to halt a substantial increase in illegal migration be met with such vehement resistance?

  The heart of the answer may be found not in what Emergency is being declared, but in who is exercising the power.  

Photo: Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Kevin Hecht crawls through the drainage pipe looking for evidence left behind by the illegal tunnelers. (U.S. Border Patrol)

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The State of Homeland Security

On March 18, Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen delivered the 2019 State of Homeland Security Address. The New York Analysis of Policy and Government presents her key points:

Although the overall security of our homeland is strong—the threats we face are graver than at any time since 9/11. The ground beneath our feet has shifted.  Our enemies and adversaries have evolved.  And the arms of government are swinging too slowly to protect the American people.

We are more secure than ever against the dangers of the last decade.  But we are less prepared than ever for those that will find us in the next.

That is why under this President…we have made a decision:  to shape the world around us.  To create an environment that is favorable to U.S. interests…to dramatically enhance the way we defend the homeland. In short, we are going from “highly reactive” to “highly resilient.”  And we are not wasting any time.

In the past 12 months, there has been more change at DHS than almost any single year in its history.

 New Wars, Many Battlegrounds

DHS was created to fight one primary, generation-defining struggle:  the war on terror.  But we now find ourselves defending against emerging threats on new battlegrounds.

Not only are we still facing the insidious threat from global jihadists, but we are under siege from transnational criminals…faceless cyber thugs and hackers…and resurgent nation-state rivals.

The battlespace is constantly in flux, flipping from the physical world…to the virtual world…and back again.

I am more worried about the ability of bad guys to hijack our networks than their ability to hijack our flights.  And I am concerned about them holding our infrastructure hostage…stealing our money and secrets…exploiting children online…and even hacking our democracy.

These aren’t wars that we can fight in slow motion… If we don’t anticipate, adapt, and respond quickly, we will lose. 

The idea that we can prevail with so-called “Whole of Government” efforts is now an outdated concept.  It’s not enough. We need a “Whole of Society” approach to overcome today’s threats… Because it’s not just U.S. troops and government agents on the frontlines anymore.  It’s U.S. companies.  It’s our schools and gathering places.  It’s ordinary Americans.

Threat actors are mercilessly targeting everyone’s devices and networks.  They are compromising, co-opting, and controlling them.  And they are weaponizing our own innovation against us.

America is not prepared for this.  Your average private citizen or company is no match against a nation-state such as China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia.  It is not a fair fight.  And until now our government has done far too little to back them up. President Trump has made homeland security his number-one priority.

Combat Terrorism and Homeland Threats

Our new DHS strategic plan integrates our mission across agencies and offices to reflect a unified approach.

The first goal is to Combat Terrorism and Homeland Threats.

Our Department was built in response to a complex, coordinated, and catastrophic terrorist plot.  And we continue to do all we can to ensure we know who is traveling to the U.S. and to prevent nefarious actors from carrying out attacks on the homeland.

To thwart terrorist plotting, DHS has recently put in place some of the most sweeping security enhancements in a decade. 

We have instituted tougher vetting and tighter screening in the travel system to prevent terrorists from infiltrating the United States, in addition to instituting the biggest aviation security enhancements in years.  This includes sophisticated measures to detect concealed explosives and insider threats.

This year, our new National Vetting Center (NVC) will become fully operational.  It will fuse law-enforcement data and intelligence from across the government to detect dangerous individuals seeking to reach our territory.

In the same vein…DHS has worked with the State Department to notify all countries in the world of more stringent information-sharing requirements to crack down on terrorist travel…But these major improvements are not enough.  Fanatics have innovated.  They have realized terror can be done on the cheap and spread virtually—using simple online instructions and household tools.

With the rise of ISIS, the phenomenon of “do-it-yourself” mass destruction was born.  And homeland security hasn’t been the same ever since…Despite losing territory, the group’s reach remains global.

Just last week, the FBI arrested a Georgia woman tied to the United Cyber Caliphate—a hacking and propaganda wing of ISIS.  The woman allegedly helped the group promote online “kill lists” featuring U.S. soldiers, government officials, and private citizens.  One posting, which included the personal information of potential targets, offered a simple and chilling instruction:  “Kill them wherever you find them.”

My Department assesses that the primary terrorist threat to the United States continues to be from Islamist militants and those they inspire, but we should not—and CANNOT—ignore the real and serious danger posed by domestic terrorists.

They are using the same do-it-yourself, mass-murder tactics- as we saw with the horrible assault last week in New Zealand against Muslim worshippers.  Attacks on peaceful people in their places of worship are abhorrent…

There is no room in this great nation for violent groups who intimidate and coerce Americans because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, or creed…

At DHS, we’ve launched new terrorism-prevention programs against ALL forms of violent hate.  We are sharing more information with local authorities.  We have worked with social media companies to crack down on terrorist propaganda online. And we have ramped up soft-target security nationwide, with a particular focus on protecting schools, large events, major gatherings, and places of worship…

DHS is also focused on amplifying efforts to combat emerging threats.

Last year, with the help of Congress, we stood up a new Office of Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction—one of the biggest-ever reorganizations of DHS—to better protect Americans against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear dangers. 

We also fought for—and won—legislative authority to detect and disrupt dangerous drones so they aren’t used in our homeland to spy, to steal, to smuggle, and to cause destruction.

Defend U.S. Borders and Sovereignty

At the same time, we cannot lose sight of our most basic obligations to the American people, reflected in the second goal of our strategic plan:  to Defend U.S. Borders and Sovereignty. 

I want to cut through the politics to tell you loud and clear:  there is NO “manufactured” crisis at our Southern Border.  There is a real-life humanitarian and security catastrophe.

Late last year, we were apprehending 50,000 – 60,000 migrants a month. Last month, we apprehended more than 75,000—the highest in over a decade. And today I can tell you that we are on track to interdict nearly 100,000 migrants this month.

The situation at our Southern Border has gone from a crisis…to a national emergency…to a near system-wide meltdown…the system is breaking.  And our communities, our law enforcement personnel, and the migrants themselves are paying the price.

What’s different about the current flow is not just how many people are coming but who is arriving… Over 60 percent of the current flow is now families and unaccompanied children, and 60 percent is non-Mexican.  Our system was not built to handle this type of flow.

Because of outdated laws, misguided court decisions, and a massive backlog of cases, we are usually forced to release these groups into the United States.  And we have virtually no hope of removing them in the future, despite the fact that the vast majority who apply for asylum do not qualify for it.

Smugglers and traffickers have caught on, advertising a “free ticket” into America.  As a result, the flow of families and children has become a flood.  Cases of “fake families” are popping up everywhere.  And children are being used as pawns. In fact, we have uncovered “child recycling rings,” truly, child re-victimization rings, a process by which innocent children are used multiple times to help aliens gain illegal entry.  As a nation we cannot stand for this. 

The humanitarian situation cannot be ignored.  In one study, more than 30 percent of women reported being sexually assaulted along the way, and 70 percent of all migrants reported experiencing violence.  We give pregnancy tests to girls as young as 10 to ensure we can offer appropriate medical support. Smugglers and traffickers are forcing people into inhuman conditions, demanding extraordinary sums of money, and putting lives in danger…children are arriving at the border sicker than ever before.

Criminals are using the situation to line their pockets, while gangs are exploiting the loopholes to bring in new recruits. And we are seeing the spread of violent crime and drugs—the majority of which come into our country via the Southern Border both at and between ports of entry. What’s worse, last year we identified tens of thousands of convicted and wanted criminals attempting to cross.  And those are just the ones we know about.

So what are we doing about it?

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DHS has built the first border wall to go up in a decade.  We are building more, and have plans for hundreds of new miles to block illicit goods, illegal entry, and help ensure a safe and orderly migrant flow…We have worked with the Pentagon to deploy thousands of troops to the Southern Border…We have worked with the Justice Department to prosecute single adults who cross illegally …

We have engaged the Northern Triangle countries to address the challenge at the source…and this month I expect to sign a historic, first-ever “regional compact” with these nations to counter human and drug smuggling, trafficking, and irregular migration …this is something I have been pursuing for years…

We have also stepped up efforts to protect women and children from being abused, kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and exploited on the journey…and to provide support to survivors…

We are doing more to dismantle transnational criminal organizations…we have intensified operations to seize illicit drugs—especially opioids.

I am also looking at ways to help at-risk migrants apply for U.S. asylum from within Central America—rather than embarking on the treacherous trek to our border.  We must find ways to help vulnerable populations sooner in their journey north.

But it’s still not enough.

Our laws aren’t keeping up with the migrant flows, and until they are fixed, the situation will only get worse and more heartbreaking.

We need Congress to stop playing politics and do what’s right. We need Congress to change the law to allow us to keep families together throughout the immigration process…to ensure the safe and prompt return of unaccompanied children to their home countries…and to reverse the court ruling that directs dangerous criminals to be released into our communities.

Secure Cyberspace and Critical Infrastructure

On the top of my list of threats—the word CYBER is circled, highlighted, and underlined.  The cyber domain is a target, a weapon, and a threat vector—all at the same time.

That is why another goal in our strategic plan is Secure Cyberspace and Critical Infrastructure.

Nation states, criminal syndicates, hacktivists, terrorists—they are all building capacity to infiltrate and undermine our networks.  They are weaponizing the web.

For instance, in the past two years, we witnessed North Korea’s WannaCry ransomware spread to more than 150 countries, holding healthcare systems hostage and bringing factories to a halt.

And we saw Russia probing our energy grid, compromising thousands of routers around the world, and unleashing NotPetya malware, which wreaked havoc as one of the costliest cyber incidents in history.

I could go on for hours.

What worries me, though, is not what these threat actors have done, but what they have the capability to do.  Stealing our most sensitive secrets…deceiving us about our own data… distracting us during a crisis…launching physical attacks on infrastructure with a few keystrokes…or planting false flags to embroil us in conflict with other nations.

The possibilities are limitless.  But the time we have to prepare is not.

To get ahead of our adversaries, we released the first DHS Cybersecurity Strategy last May.  This was Step One.

Step Two was partnership.

I’ve said it many times, but it bears repeating:  In our hyper-connected world, if we prepare individually, we will fail collectively.

So DHS held a first-of-its-kind National Cybersecurity Summit in New York City.  We brought together CEOs from some of the largest companies in America, hundreds of senior risk and security officers, multiple Cabinet officials, and Vice President Pence to take a clear-eyed look at America’s cybersecurity posture.

The gathering produced real results.  Participants took action to deepen partnerships, break down barriers, and better integrate collective risk-management efforts.

We announced the formation of the National Risk Management Center (NRMC), a premier forum for government and industry to collaborate against evolving digital dangers.

And in the months that followed, we took an even bigger leap.

We consolidated and strengthened federal efforts to protect our nation’s digital networks.  And with Congressional authorization, we established the landmark Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency—CISA—at DHS.

CISA was long overdue—and will be at the “front of the fight” in cyberspace for years to come.

But strategies, partnerships, and organizational change will still only get us partway.  So we have ramped up operations to keep intruders out of our networks.

First and foremost, we have driven a change in U.S. policy to replace complacency with consequences.  We have made clear we will no longer accept malicious cyber interference.

We are fighting back in both “seen and unseen” ways, including publicly attributing cyber attacks to the perpetrators, levying sanctions, and delivering other consequences.

This has sent a powerful message to online adversaries, especially nation-states:  America has had enough, and WE WILL NOT hesitate to punish you for compromising our networks.

We have also instituted a next generation risk management approach to identify and assess critical functions—not only specific assets and systems.

We are wielding DHS authorities to get dangerous software, such as Kaspersky-branded products, out of federal systems…and taking swift action to patch newly discovered vulnerabilities.

Alarmingly, our adversaries are using state-owned companies as a “forward-deployed” force to attack us from within our supply chain.  So we are working with industry partners to identify and delete these bugs and defects from our systems. 

But of all the digital threats, the ones we must take most seriously are those aimed at the very heart of our democracy.

In 2016, at the direction of Vladimir Putin, Russia launched a concerted effort to undermine our elections and our democratic process using cyber-enabled means.

Their meddling didn’t stop there.  They have continued to interfere in our public affairs and have attempted to sow division online among Americans on hot-button issues.

Unfortunately, other nation-state rivals appear to be following suit and are—in various ways—working to virtually influence U.S. policy and discourse…

Last year we applied our “lessons learned” from 2016 to prevent hacking in the 2018 elections.

It was a full court press.

We worked to support all 50 states in a variety of ways, including technical assistance, security assessments, planning, exercises, sharing of threat data, and incident response.

On Election Day, more than 90 percent of American voters lived in an area covered by our network sensors—vastly more than in 2016.

And it worked.

Thanks to DHS cyber defenders and many partners nationwide—I can say with confidence that the 2018 election was the most secure in the modern era.

Responding to Disasters

But it’s not just bad guys we are focused on.  Mother Nature has been extremely active, too. 

We have delivered record-breaking levels of disaster assistance to Americans in the past two years, including putting $7 billion in the hands of disaster survivors—more than the previous decade.  And in response to recent catastrophes, we are implementing a new vision focused on making America better prepared for the worst. 

FEMA is investing substantial resources to build more resilient communities …we are forward-deploying federal personnel nationwide so they are working side-by-side with state and local officials well before disaster strikes…. and we are expanding alert systems so that we can warn citizens faster.

 Photo: In March, ICE led the largest street gang take-down in New York City history, totaling more than 120 members and associates of two rival gangs operating in the Bronx. Official photo by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Categories
Quick Analysis

Illegal Immigration: Why it is a Crisis, Part 2

Yesterday, the New York Analysis of Policy and Government, citing several sources, outlined the challenges resulting from illegal immigration. One publication recently noted another extraordinary example: over 2,000 illegals have been quarantined due to contagious diseases. Today, we present an official release from the Department of Homeland Security, describing the official agency perspective on the issue.

[I]n February more than double the level of migrants crossed the border without authorization compared to the same period last year, approaching the largest numbers seen in any February in the last 12 years, The New York Times reported.

“The truth is that the politics and policies of open borders have failed the American people. Our broken system endures, and the ongoing humanitarian and security crisis at our Southwest Border leaves many minors and families at extreme risk of being exploited by traffickers, human smugglers, gangs, and other nefarious actors seeking to profit at their expense,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen. “Activist courts, congressional inaction, and criminals intent on breaking our laws stand in the way of confronting illegal and uncontrolled migration threatening our safety and security. What was a crisis, is now a full-fledged emergency.”

“This cannot be a partisan issue,” Nielsen continued. “Every DHS Secretary since the Department’s inception has sounded the alarm about our unsecured border and its consequences. The American people and our law enforcement personnel rightfully demand effective border security: building the wall, strengthening our laws, and giving the men and women serving on the front lines the tools and resources they need to keep Americans safe. To that end, this Department pledges our unwavering resolve to confronting present and ever-evolving future threats to our national security at our Southwest Border.”

Humanitarian and Security Crisis at a Breaking Point

New data reveals that more than 76,000 migrants illegally crossed into the U.S. and were apprehended or deemed inadmissible last month, a 12-Year High.

  • New data shows that more than 76,000 aliens were apprehended or deemed inadmissible at a port of entry in February.
  • More than 2,000 aliens are being apprehended every day at the Southern border.
    • Border Patrol has apprehended over 268,000 individuals since the beginning of the fiscal year, marking a 97% increase from the previous year.
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  • Our nation is experiencing an unprecedented surge of illegal alien families arriving our border, with more than 40,000 apprehended and deemed inadmissible in February. 
    • In this fiscal year (FY) to date, there has been a more than 300%increase in the number of family units apprehended compared to the same time period last fiscal year.
  • Apprehensions of family unit aliens and Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) have surged by 338% and 54% respectively this year. 
  • There has been a wave of large migrant groups flooding to the border.
    • 70 large groups of 100 or more individuals have attempted to cross the border so far this fiscal year, compared with only 13 the previous year.
  • Many of the migrants arriving at our border are requiring medical assistance, further straining resources and personnel on the ground.
    • Customs and Border Protection is executing a new directive to expand existing medical service contracts and deploy additional medical personnel to the border.

Illicit Materials, Transnational Gangs, Drugs, Human Trafficking, and Sex Crimes

Our nation is experiencing a dire immigration crisis that requires swift and decisive action to confront illegal and uncontrolled migration threatening our safety and security.

  • In the last two years alone, ICE officers have arrested 266,000 aliens with criminal records including those convicted of nearly 100,000 assaults, 30,000 sex crimes, and 4,000 homicides.
  • In Texas, 276,000 criminal aliens were booked into local jails between June 1, 2011 and December 31, 2018, of which over 186,000 were classified as illegal aliens by DHS.
  • Last year, ICE officers removed more than 10,000 known or suspected gang members already in our country illegally.
  • Each week, approximately 300 Americans have died from heroin overdoses, of which nearly 90% comes across our southern border.
  • Just last month, CBP made the largest seizure fentanyl ever recorded attempting to cross the southern border. It was enough to kill more than 115 million Americans.
    • Alarmingly, CBP has reported that fentanyl smuggling between ports of entry at the southern border has more than doubled over our last fiscal year.  Fentanyl was responsible for more than 28,400 overdose deaths variety of Americans in 2017.  Just a few weeks ago, CBP made its largest fentanyl bust in U.S. history, seizing 254 pounds hidden in a truck trailer compartment. 
  • One in three women are sexually assaulted on the journey to the border.
  • In FY 2018, ICE made more than 1,500 human trafficking arrests – 97% of them for sex-trafficking.
  • 20,000 children were illegally smuggled into the United States during the month of December, alone.
    • In the first five months of fiscal year 2018, CBP saw a 315% increase in individuals using children to pose as family units to gain entry into the United States. 
  • CBP has recorded a 50% spike over the last fiscal year of the number of gang members apprehended at the southern border.
Categories
Quick Analysis

Illegal Immigration: Why it is a Crisis

The numbers of illegals entering the United States is soaring. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), The U.S. Border Patrol is currently encountering illegal immigration at the highest rates since 2007. Increased crime, contagious diseases, significant costs, and national security concerns have been tied to the problem.  A quick summary of the challenges:

Health Concerns

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has requested that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) investigate the cause of the growing number of sick migrants illegally entering the U.S. The Daily Caller reports that “A DHS official told reporters that ‘literally dozens’ of sick migrants are being transported to hospitals across the border each day and that growing numbers of children showing illness are present in border patrol custody.”

Crime

The Sacramento Bee reports that “MS-13 is not a myth; there are some 10,000 MS-13 members in the United States In May 2017, 21 members of the gang were arrested in Los Angeles, more than half illegal immigrants. From 2005-2007, ICE made thousands of arrests of MS-13 members in our state. The 18th Street Gang counts somewhere from 30,000 to 50,000 members in the United States; again, a significant percentage of that population is in the country illegally.”

One factor that should not be overlooked is the role of violent illegal immigrants. According to a United Nations study, “The global average homicide rate stands at 6.2 per 100,000 population, but Southern Africa and Central America have rates over four times higher than that (above 24 victims per 100,000 population), making them the sub-regions with the highest homicide rates on record, followed by South America, Middle Africa and the Caribbean.” The wave of illegal immigrants comes heavily from Central America.

The Congressional Research Service  has found that Gang-related violence has been particularly acute in El Salvador, Honduras, and urban areas in Guatemala, contributing to some of the highest homicide rates in the world. Congress has maintained an interest in the effects of gang-related crime and violence on governance, citizen security, and investment in Central America. Congress has examined the role that gang-related violence has played in fueling mixed migration flows, which have included asylum seekers, by families and unaccompanied alien children (UAC) to the United States.

According to the FBI Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, continues to expand its influence in the United States. FBI investigations reveal that it is present in almost every state and continues to grow its membership, now targeting younger recruits more than ever before.

According to the FBI Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, continues to expand its influence in the United States. FBI investigations reveal that it is present in almost every state and continues to grow its membership, now targeting younger recruits more than ever before.

Breitbart stressed that: Between 2008 and 2014, 40% of all murder convictions in Florida were criminal aliens. In New York it was 34% and Arizona 17.8%. During those years, criminal aliens accounted for 38% of all murder convictions in the five states of California, Texas, Arizona, Florida and New York, while illegal aliens constitute only 5.6% of the total population in those states.That 38% represents 7,085 murders out of the total of 18,643.”

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Peter Kirsanow, writing in National Review, writes: “Using data from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), state prison systems, and Pew, we were able to compare rates of major offenses in states with sizeable populations of illegal aliens. For example: Arizona: Approximately 240 illegal aliens were imprisoned for homicide-related offenses. This means approximately 68.57 illegal aliens were imprisoned for homicide offenses per 100,000 illegal aliens in Arizona, whereas 54.06 citizens and legal residents were imprisoned for homicide-related offenses per 100,000 citizens and legal residents in Arizona. California: Approximately 2,430 illegal aliens were imprisoned for homicide-related offenses. This means approximately 97.2 illegal aliens were imprisoned for homicide and related offenses per 100,000 illegal aliens in California, whereas 74.1 citizens and legal residents were imprisoned for homicide and related offenses per 100,000 citizens and legal residents. Florida: Approximately 480 illegal aliens were imprisoned for homicide-related offenses. This means approximately 54.85 illegal aliens were imprisoned for murder and manslaughter per 100,000 illegal aliens in Florida, whereas approximately 67.8 legal residents were imprisoned for murder and manslaughter per 100,000 legal residents. New York: Approximately 1,350 illegal aliens were imprisoned for homicide-related offenses. This means approximately 168.75 illegal aliens were imprisoned for  murder and related offenses per 100,000 illegal aliens in the state, whereas approximately 48.12 legal residents were imprisoned for murder and related offenses per 100,000 legal residents.”

Terrorism

The Center for Immigration Studies https://cis.org/Report/Have-Terrorists-Crossed-Our-Border reports that “From only public realm reporting, 15 suspected terrorists have been apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border, or en route, since 2001. The 15 terrorism-associated migrants who traveled to the U.S. southern border likely represent a significant under-count since most information reflecting such border-crossers resides in classified or protected government archives and intelligence databases. Affiliations included al-Shabbab, al-Ittihad al-Islamiya, Hezbollah, the Pakistani Taliban, ISIS, Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh, and the Tamil Tigers. At least five of the 15 were prosecuted for crimes in North American courts. One is currently under Canadian prosecution for multiple attempted murder counts. Of the four in the United States, one was prosecuted for lying to the FBI about terrorism involvement, one for asylum fraud, one for providing material support to a terrorist organization, and one for illegal entry, false statements, and passport mutilation.

Costs

The Federation for American Immigration Reform https://fairus.org/issue/publications-resources/fiscal-burden-illegal-immigration-united-states-taxpayers provides this estimate of costs: “At the federal, state, and local levels, taxpayers shell out approximately $134.9 billion to cover the costs incurred by the presence of more than 12.5 million illegal aliens, and about 4.2 million citizen children of illegal aliens. That amounts to a tax burden of approximately $8,075 per illegal alien family member and a total of $115,894,597,664. The total cost of illegal immigration to U.S. taxpayers is both staggering and crippling. In 2013, FAIR estimated the total cost to be approximately $113 billion.”

Tomorrow: The DHS comments

Chart: Department of Homeland Security

Categories
Quick Analysis

Good Walls do make Good Neighbors

This article was written by the distinguished retired judge, John H. Wilson

During his State of the Union, President Trump mentioned the cities of San Diego and El Paso.  Regarding these places, the President stated that “San Diego used to have the most illegal border crossings in the country. In response, and at the request of San Diego residents and political leaders, a strong security wall was put in place. This powerful barrier almost completely ended illegal crossings.  The border city of El Paso, Texas, used to have extremely high rates of violent crime — one of the highest in the country, and considered one of our Nation’s most dangerous cities. Now, with a powerful barrier in place, El Paso is one of our safest cities.”

These statements, as well as Mr. Trump’s other comments during this speech, were aggressively fact checked by the media, even as the President spoke.  Interestingly enough, the “instant criticism” of these remarks reported by Politico centered around the deterioration of the fencing along the US-Mexico border in Southern California, and the willingness of “some” Democratic negotiators to discuss funding for some sort of unspecified barrier or other security measures at the border.

Shortly after the State of the Union, claims were made in the media that the wall between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez had nothing to do with the drop in crime experienced by El Paso.  However, the wall between Mexico and the United States in that area was built between 2006 and 2008.  Crime statistics for El Paso show an overall drop in violent crime in recent years, with a noticeable downward drop in 2006 – the year work on building the wall was commenced.

President Trump’s remarks appear to have been based upon the claim made by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who stated that  “El Paso used to have one of the highest crime rates in America…after that fence went up and separated Juarez, which still has an extremely high crime rate, the crime rates in El Paso now are some of the lowest in the country. So we know it works.”  Despite the headlines denying this declaration, the crime statistics cited above would support this assertion by both the President and the Texas Attorney General.

In fact, the effort made by President Trump’s critics to deny the obvious have been extraordinary, to say the least.  During her infamous response to the President’s speech on the need for a border wall, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi used every euphemism for border security possible, without once admitting that a wall (or fence, or barrier, or whatever description you prefer) is the most effective way to keep an intruder off of your property: “The fact is: We all agree that we need to secure our borders, while honoring our values: we can build the infrastructure and roads at our ports of entry; we can install new technology to scan cars and trucks for drugs coming into our nation; we can hire the personnel we need to facilitate trade and immigration at the border; and we can fund more innovation to detect unauthorized crossings.”

There can be no reasonable doubt that a wall is the simplest, most cost-effective method of securing any area of land.  it makes little sense to have drones or other expensive methods of detecting border crossers, without a method in place to stop those same crossers (or at least, slow them down long enough for border security to reach the area where a breech has occurred).

But, there is no need to follow the logic of this common sense argument.  Let experience guide us in this matter.

In 2006, a group of New York City judges took a good will tour of Israel.  I was part of that expedition.

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Besides Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, we traveled to the Golan Heights, and saw the Christian Druze community which served as a buffer between the Syrians and the Israelis.  But most significant for our purposes, I had the invaluable opportunity to observe at first hand the Israeli Security Fence.    

Built between 2000 and 2006, the wall, which stretches over 200 miles, stands between the state of Israel and the Palestinian territory.  One statistic alone will establish the effectiveness of this barrier – In 2002, there were 43 suicide attacks against Israeli targets.  In 2012, after the wall was put in place there were zero.  

Our guides brought us to a section of the wall which divided an Israeli town from a Palestinian “camp” (one of the things I learned while in Israel, is that many Palestinian towns were called “camps,” even when the Palestinians lived in stone or brick houses, with running water and electricity).  Here, a port had been placed in the wall – an open area, surrounded with walls, with a wide gate on either side.  Here, it was explained, Israeli trucks carrying produce could unload their cargo, while Palestinian drivers could load their trucks with that same produce for sale in the Palestinian territory.  

We also met with the Mayor of the Israeli town (an ethnic Arab), who informed us that incidents of violence in his town between Israelis and Palestinians had dropped to zero since the construction of the wall.

Yet, when I returned to America, the outright denial of the facts I witnessed in Israel continue to exist here even to the present day.  In January of 2017, Isabel Kershner of the New York Times stated that the Israeli Security Fence “was constructed under very different circumstances, and with different goals, than Mr. Trump’s wall, raising questions about whether the president’s analogy between the United States and Israel is sound.” Yet, even Ms Kershner frankly admitted that “since March 2002, there has been a sharp decline in the number and scope of terrorist attacks by West Bank Palestinians in Israel.”

What exactly is the purpose of both the Israeli Border Wall, and the Barrier Fence proposed between Mexico and the United States?  President Trump put it like this – “Simply put, walls work and walls save lives.”  In other words, the purpose of both walls is to provide for security.

Any other argument to the contrary is nothing but semantics.

Photo: San Diego (San Diego Official site picture)

Categories
Quick Analysis

Should Pro Sanctuary Politicians be Prosecuted?

This article was written by the distinguished retired jurist, John H. Wilson.

It is hard to hear about this incident without being incredulous. On the day after Christmas, California Police Officer Ronil Singh was gunned down during a DUI traffic stop by illegal immigrant Gustavo Arriaga.  Arriaga, from Mexico, had gang affiliations, two prior DUI arrests, and had entered the country illegally by crossing the border in Arizona.  

Officer Singh, himself a legal immigrant, left behind a wife and young child.

This event was already national news when it was mentioned by President Donald Trump in his televised speech to the nation: “America’s heart broke the day after Christmas when a young police officer in California was savagely murdered in cold blood by an illegal alien, just came across the border. The life of an American hero was stolen by someone who had no right to be in our country. Day after day, precious lives are cut short by those who have violated our borders.”  

Unfortunately, there is nothing new about “someone who has no right to be in our country” killing someone who does.  From Kate Steinle (whose murderer was only found guilty of illegally possessing a firearm)   to Pierce Corcoran, who was killed in Knoxville December 29 by an illegal immigrant driving without a license or insurance,   there is no escaping the fact that illegal immigrants are killing people at an alarming rate.

This leads to two question which must be asked – are the policies of sanctuary cities directly responsible for the deaths of these innocent people, and if they are, can the politicians who support sanctuary policies be prosecuted?

The Acting Director of ICE certainly believes this to be the case.  In remarks made after the murder of Police Officer Singh, Thomas Homan stated that “politicians should be held ‘personally accountable’ for crimes committed by people living in the U.S. illegally…’We’ve got to start charging some of these politicians with crimes.'”  

But exactly what crime could these politicians be charged with?  One seemingly obvious choice would be Obstruction of Justice.

18 USC Chapter 73 defines “Obstruction of Justice” in a variety of manners.     Sec 1502  makes it crime to resist an “extradition agent,” however the agents described transport prisoners from one prison to another within the United States.  Section 1505 criminalizes the “obstruction of proceedings before departments, agencies, and committees,” but by its language, “(w)hoever corruptly, or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication influences, obstructs, or impedes or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede the due and proper administration of the law under which any pending proceeding is being had before any department or agency of the United States,”  an argument can be made that this statute would not apply.  An immigration detainer is not necessarily a “pending proceeding,” and to the knowledge of this author, none of the leaders of any sanctuary city have threatened the use of force, or sent any letters that could be construed as threatening to ICE.

Section 1510, which makes it a crime to obstruct a criminal investigation would not apply, since immigration proceedings are civil and not criminal in nature, and while Section 1511, “Obstruction of State and local law enforcement,” may sound promising, that statute only applies to actions intended to facilitate an illegal gambling operation.”

Finally, 18 USC 1509, “obstruction of court orders” will not apply, since an Immigration court is not a “court of the United States” (18 USC 1515(a) defines “official proceedings” as occurring before “a judge or court of the United This program is offered to you so tadalafil 20mg price cheap that all can afford it. Speedy, simple baby sitting support, correct? Correct! You’ve viagra canada pharmacies most likely found out about reactions. These disorders are an extremely sensitive source of anxiety for purchase viagra online http://respitecaresa.org/author/pgillispie/link men as this specifically influences his close life and his accomplice’s fulfillment and happiness. This not only leads to improved cheapest tadalafil uk emotional health but to better physical health as well. States, a United States magistrate judge, a bankruptcy judge, a judge of the United States Tax Court, a special trial judge of the Tax Court, a judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims, or a Federal grand jury,” none of which include a judge of the Immigration Court).

Reasonable minds may differ on the interpretation of these statutes.  Dan Cadman of the Center for Immigration Studies argues for the application of 18 USC 1505, discussed above.    However, this author believes Mr. Cadman presents a far stronger argument for the use of 8 USC 1324. 

Under subsection (a)(1)(A)(iii) of that statute, it is a crime to “knowing(ly) or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law, conceals, harbors, or shields from detection, or attempts to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection, such alien in any place, including any building or any means of transportation.”

This author believes a strong argument can also be made for the applicability of subsection (a)(1)(A)(iv), which makes it a crime to “encourage(s) or induce(s) an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such coming to, entry, or residence is or will be in violation of law.”

Under subdivision (b)(ii), the penalty for a violation of “subparagraph (A)(ii), (iii), (iv), or (v)(II),” is a fine “under title 18, imprison(ment) not more than 5 years, or both.”

In his article on this issue, Mr. Cadman advocates for the prosecution of Oakland, California mayor Libby Schaaf, who famously warned illegal immigrants residing in her city of an impending raid by ICE agents.   Were Mayor Schaaf to be prosecuted, could Mayor Bill DeBlasio of New York City, or Mayor London Breed of San Francisco be far behind?

There is little question that the establishment of a “sanctuary” for illegal immigrants “conceals, harbors or shields from detection” these persons, as well as “encourages and induces” these same persons to “come to, enter, or reside in the United States.”  But as more persons who are in our country illegally perpetrate more violent crimes, killing citizens and police officers alike, the effect of protecting these persons from detection and apprehension by ICE becomes more pronounced and increasingly detrimental to public safety.

As these continuous and heartbreaking murders garner increasing attention, it becomes harder and harder for sanctuary city politicians to deny the effect of their actions.  All that is necessary at this stage is for the US Attorney of a sanctuary city to show some courage, and enforce the law.

Photo: Sacramento, California’s State Capital (Sacramento web site)