Considering the fact that this administration has never wanted to enforce our immigration laws, it comes as no surprise that the “linchpin” of their enforcement is being decided in one of the most liberal cities in the U.S. to assure its defeat.
Oh, but they really want to enforce our law… yeah, right.
A federal judge in San Francisco ordered an indefinite delay yesterday of a central measure of the Bush administration’s new strategy to curb illegal immigration.
The judge, Charles R. Breyer of the Northern District of California, said the government had failed to follow proper procedures for issuing a new rule that would have forced employers to fire workers if their Social Security numbers could not be verified within three months.
Judge Breyer chastised the Department of Homeland Security for making a policy change with “massive ramifications” for employers, without giving any legal explanation or conducting a required survey of the costs and impact for small businesses.
Under the rule issued by the department, which had been scheduled to take effect last month, employers would have to fire workers within 90 days after receiving a notice from the Social Security Administration that an employee’s identity information did not match the agency’s records. Illegal immigrants often present false Social Security information when applying for jobs.
The rule, announced with fanfare in August by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, was the linchpin of the administration’s effort to crack down on illegal immigration by denying jobs to the immigrants. It is part of a campaign of stepped-up enforcement since broader immigration legislation favored by President Bush was rejected by Congress in June.
The fanfare of this ‘linchpin’ was simply a bone thrown to the American people. Judge Breyer’s decision is the gift Chertoff and this administration were hoping for. But, of course, they feign disappointment.
Judge Breyer’s decision was an awkward disappointment for Mr. Chertoff, a former federal judge, who was relying on the rule as an enforcement tool since Congress left him with few other options.
“We will continue to aggressively enforce our immigration laws while reviewing all legal options available to us in response to this ruling”, Mr. Chertoff said yesterday in a statement.
Mr. Chertoff said the administration was doing “as much administratively as we can, within the boundaries of existing law” to crack down on illegal immigration, but he called on Congress to revisit legislation to give legal status to illegal immigrants and to impose even tougher enforcement measures.
Trying to further convince the American people that our immigration laws are ‘broken’, Chertoff laments that they are doing everything possible “within the boundaries of existing law” while hinting that if we will just let them change the laws, they will be able to do more. But in the next breath, he calls on Congress to hand out amnesty to all illegal aliens - which would eliminate the need for workplace enforcement.
Does he think we are stupid? Apparently so.
I don’t know about you, but I am tired of our elected officials treating us like we have no idea of what they are doing. This shell game of “look we’re trying but the courts won’t let us” is a bunch of hooey and we all know it.
It’s time they just get to work and do the job they were elected to do. I am sick of the excuses and the whining.
H/T to Phil at Captain America
