Janet Napolitano orders review of first immigration raid under Obama; bye bye raids

After barely doing any immigration raids for several years, the Bush administration began enforcing the laws at workplaces in an attempt to get comprehensive immigration reform.

Now, Janet Napolitano of the Department of Homeland Security is sending the message that the Barack Obama administration isn't even going to do show raids (link):

Immigration agents this week conducted their first work-site raid since President Barack Obama took office [at Yamato Engine Specialists in Bellingham, WA], but it was news to their boss, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who on Wednesday ordered a review of the action.

...Napolitano told lawmakers during a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday that she did not know about the raid before it happened and was briefed on it early Wednesday morning. She has asked U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which arrested 28 illegal immigrants in the raid, for answers.

"I want to get to the bottom of this as well," she said. She said work-site enforcement needs to be focused on the employers.

Even the rare raid tends to disincentivize coming here illegally in order to find work, which would lead to less need to "focus on the employers". It's also a bit difficult to see how she'd concentrate on the employers without sweeping the employees up in it. Would she give all the workers involved in an investigation amnesty in exchange for testimony? If so, wouldn't that simply incentivize illegal immigration, with workers realizing that they'd only very rarely be arrested and deported? Does she cling to the loony idea of some that it's possible to enforce labor but not immigration laws? Is she trying to appease the cries from the far-left to halt all raids pending "reform"?

Will this result in public outcry and backfire on them?

Whatever the case, she can't do anything without political cover, and if anyone wants to help take that away organize others to go out and ask some tough questions.

UPDATE: Per this, an unnamed DHS official says "The secretary is not happy and this is not her policy". And, White House spokesman Nick Shapiro says:

"these raids are not a long-term solution... Secretary Napolitano is conducting a thorough review of ICE, including enforcement... The president believes we must respect due process and our best values as we enforce the law. The real answer to our broken immigration system is to fix it. The president has said that we will start the immigration reform debate this year, and this continues to be the plan."

As with prior "debates", you won't be invited, and the only "debate" will be over which form of "reform" they're going to try to push on us. The only way to get a seat at the debate is to do what I've been suggesting for over two years now: go out and ask tough questions. If your leaders aren't urging you to go out and ask tough questions but instead are organizing "protests" like the "tea parties", get new leaders.

Thu, 02/26/2009 - 06:14 · · Importance: 4