National ICE Council President Demands Enforcement; Predicts Amnesty Would Compromise Public Safety, National Security

Last month, on a trip to Washington D.C. to attend the Federation for American Immigration Reform advisory board meeting, CAPS directors and I heard National ICE Council president Chris Crane give the keynote address. Crane detailed how challenging life is for him and other agents as they try to enforce the nation’s immigration laws, bucking the White House all the way.

Since the administration has actively accommodated illegal aliens though prosecutorial discretion, deferred action for childhood arrivals and a new non-deportation policy for alien adult parents with citizen children, as well as anyone who claims to be a DREAMer (even those in jail), Crane’s job gets harder every day.

The White House’s defiance of immigration law is best demonstrated by its willingness, even eagerness, to include aliens, their lobby and immigration lawyers in confidential discussions about pending amnesty legislation. However, despite repeated requests, neither Crane nor others from his organization has received similar invitations.

Another ominous indicator is that the White House has indicated through its silence that it endorses state laws, such as ones passed in California, Illinois and Massachusetts, which hinder federal prosecution. Yet, through the Department of Justice, it files lawsuits against states such as Alabama, Arizona and South Carolina that pass legislation which encourages enforcement.

Crane remains undaunted. In his statement last week responding to President Obama’s demand that Congress move swiftly to pass comprehensive immigration reform for 11 million illegal aliens that would provide legal status, work permits and eventual citizenship, Crane said that the administration is in “no position” to issue an ultimatum. Crane added that the Obama administration and Department of Homeland Security have worked in concert to undermine ICE’s mission as it relates to public safety and national security.

Crane summarized: “I hope Democrats and Republicans in the House will reject the calls of the White House and its big business allies seeking to profit from ‘reform,’ and make its first priority on immigration to investigate the corruption at [the Department of Homeland Security].”

Statistics released earlier this month show that illegal immigration is again on the rise. Why wouldn’t it be? Never likely to begin with, the chance that an alien will be deported is, given the recent multiple exceptions the White House has ordered on behalf of certain illegal immigrants, at an all-time low.

The combination of the nonenforcement of federal law with proactive direct and indirect federal government outreach to illegal immigrants guarantees more immigration. In turn, more immigration means tougher times for America’s 20 million unemployed and is bad news for the environment which would suffer the dire consequences millions more people would bring with them.