Merry Christmas! More Criminal Aliens Released

By Joe Guzzardi
December 26, 2014

Christmas was merry indeed for hundreds of criminal aliens. Very quietly during the last few days, Immigration Customs and Enforcement released detained illegal immigrants without felony convictions. The eventual total of those released will include all aliens who came to the United States before January 1, 2014, have misdemeanor convictions or have been arrested but not yet convicted for felonies.

On December 23, Homeland Security ordered ICE personnel by telephone to free detainees, including those set for deportation. As an added Christmas gift from President Obama, they will be given employment authorization documents. The permits, a lump of coal for Americans, undermine millions of citizens and legal immigrants who can’t find a full time job since the work-authorized criminal aliens will compete directly with them for jobs in a tight labor market.

The prisoners’ release exposes as a lie Obama’s repeated promise that his executive action would only apply to the five million illegal immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for at least five years and have American-born children. Furthermore, the latest abuse of presidential “discretion” is part of an ongoing pattern of freeing criminal aliens, even those with a violent history. In 2013, ICE released 36,000 illegal immigrants convicted of homicide, sexual assault, and kidnapping. The White House ordered ICE not to respond to media requests for further details.

Two things are going on here. First, even though the GOP won a landslide victory in November that gave them a net gain of nine new Senate seats and 13 House seats, the Republicans rolled over and played dead in the lame duck session when Speaker John Boehner refused to defund Obama’s amnesty. Instead, Boehner and incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell fooled the public into believing that by only funding the Department of Homeland Security’s until March 2015, Congress could block Obama’s unconstitutional amnesty. But, when it comes to amnesty, the GOP—or at least Republican leadership—is actually aligned with Obama.

According to the Associated Press, McConnell refused to show spine when asked how the new Congress would handle Obama’s immigration action, an increasingly crucial issue for the

American public and conservative Republicans. McConnell evasively talked about advancing the Keystone XL Pipeline and various appropriation bills. Capitol Hill insiders also note that McConnell played a central role in torpedoing Jeff Sessions’ rightful ascent to Budget Committee Chair, reportedly because of the Alabama senator’s  staunch, vocal anti-amnesty, pro-American worker stance that runs counter to leadership’s wants and desires. McConnell punished Sessions, who led committee Republicans for four years, for standing tall on behalf of America’s vanishing middle class.

Second, the three-month window in DHS funding gives Obama ample opportunity to do as he pleases on immigration without fear of congressional interference. Based on his continued end run around Congress and blatant disregard of the Constitution, Obama won’t be content until all 12 million unlawful U.S. residents are removed from potential deportation, rewarded with work permits, social security cards, and other government entitlements.

His harshest critics accuse him of purposely undermining the historic American nation. A mountain of proof supports their claim while very little evidence exists to dispute it.

Joe Guzzardi is a Californians for Population Senior Writing Fellow. Contact him at [email protected]