ObamaOdrama

Earlier this week during a media interview, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano suggested the 9/11 terrorists entered the U.S. through Canada.

According to CTA, Napolitano made the argument when addressing equal treatment for the Mexican and Canadian borders.

“Yes, Canada is not Mexico, it doesn’t have a drug war going on, it didn’t have 6,000 homicides that were drug-related last year,” she said.

“Nonetheless, to the extent that terrorists have come into our country or suspected or known terrorists have entered our country across a border, it’s been across the Canadian border. There are real issues there.”

When asked if she was referring to the 9-11 terrorists, Napolitano added: “Not just those but others as well.”

 More disturbing than Napolitano’s ignorance of the facts especially the assertion that 9-11 terrorists came from Canada is that she completely ignores the significant border crossing threat from Mexico.

However, neglecting the southern border crossing threat may not have been overlooked when taken in the context of her recent “State of the Union” interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA COUNTRY, ARIZONA: I want the president, I want the politicians to say, we are going to enforce all of the illegal immigration laws and if you come into this country illegally, you’re going to be prosecuted and put in jail.

Let them say that. I’m waiting for them to say that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: A lot of Democrats in Congress want to you investigate him. They think he is over the line. He says he is just enforcing the law and the problem is the federal government.

NAPOLITANO: Well, you know, Sheriff Joe, he is being very political in that statement, because he knows that there aren’t enough law enforcement officers, courtrooms or jail cells in the world to do what he is saying.

What we have to do is target the real evil-doers in this business, the employers who consistently hire illegal labor, the human traffickers who are exploiting human misery.

And yes, when we find illegal workers, yes, appropriate action, some of which is criminal, most of that is civil, because crossing the border is not a crime per se. It is civil. But anyway, going after those as well.

So much for the rule of law or facts for that matter.   Just another sacrifice for Obama’s race for 2012.

Nicholas Ballasy reports:

(CNSNews.com) - The acting director of the U.S. Census Bureau, Thomas Mesenbourg, told CNSNews.com that the bureau intends to work with community organizations to make sure every illegal alien in the United States is counted in the 2010 Census.

 The Census is used to apportion the seats in the U.S. House of Representative. There are 435 House seats that are divided among the states in proportion to their population, which is determined by the decennial census. States with more people get more seats in the U.S. House.

This means that a state harboring more illegal aliens can gain more House seats as long as the Census Bureau finds the illegal aliens and counts them. This also means that the illegal alien population resident in the United States during a census year has the potential to alter the regional and philosophical balance of power in Congress.

Mesenbourg made these comments after a press conference I posted yesterday where Commerce Secretary Gary Locke joined Hispanic special interest groups like Univision, the National Council of La Raza, the League of United Latin American Citizens, and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.

I think this provides some greater clarity regarding the Department of Homeland Security’s recent change of focus in enforcing immigration laws.

The AP reports that Hispanic groups are calling on Obama to keep his promise and pass immigration reform or risk “the future of the United States.”

WASHINGTON - Saying traditional census outreach will not be enough, Hispanic groups on Wednesday urged the Obama administration to follow through now on its pledge to pass immigration reform or risk an undercount of millions of people.

The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, Univision Inc., the League of United Latin American Citizens and SEIU announced a grassroots campaign that would supplement Census Bureau efforts to reach the traditionally hard to count Hispanic community. An estimated 1 million Hispanics, or about 3 percent of the U.S. population, were missed in 2000.

“Make no mistake about it: The census cannot succeed if Latinos are not fully counted,” said Arturo Vargas, executive director of NALEO, noting that Hispanics make up half of the nation’s percentage growth. “We are the future of the United States.”

He said a halt to immigration raids is not enough and referred to President Barack Obama’s pledge on immigration reform.

“That needs to be decided today, not in the 2010 census,” Vargas said.

Ruben Keoseyan, publisher of La Raza newspaper, expressed concern about a mixed message where Hispanic groups work to build trust in immigrant communities only to have it destroyed if the government conducts a raid days later. “The federal government plays an important role in augmenting what we are doing,” he said.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, who addressed the groups Wednesday, stressed that all personal information in census forms will be kept confidential. He noted that Obama would soon nominate a new census director.

“We all recognize what is at stake,” Locke said.

Spencer Hsu reports that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has postponed a series of planned immigration raids and other enforcement actions in recent weeks.

A senior department official said the delays signal a pending change in whom agents at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement choose to prosecute — increasing the focus on businesses and executives instead of ordinary workers.

“ICE is now scrutinizing these cases more thoroughly to ensure that [targets] are being taken down when they should be taken down, and that the employer is being targeted and the surveillance and the investigation is being done how it should be done,” said the official, discussing Napolitano’s views about sensitive law enforcement matters on the condition of anonymity.

“There will be a change in policy, but in the interim, you’ve got to scrutinize the cases coming up,” the senior DHS official said, noting Napolitano’s expectations as a former federal prosecutor and state attorney general.

Another DHS official said Napolitano plans to release protocols this week to ensure more consistent work-site investigations and less “haphazard” decision-making.

I don’t think anyone has issue with prosecuting businesses for hiring “illegal” immigrants but the illegal immigrants are still illegal!  This new focus is about as logical as just going after the gun manufacturer and ignoring the shooter in a homicide case.  Hmm that logic sounds familiar… 

In case you were curious why the new focus on businesses rather than illegal immigrants… Latino outrage.

Napolitano’s moves foreshadow the difficult political decisions the Obama administration faces as it decides whether to continue mass arrests of illegal immigrant workers in sweeps of meatpackers, construction firms, defense contractors and other employers.

Critics say workplace and neighborhood sweeps are harsh and indiscriminate, and they accuse the government of racial profiling, violating due process rights and committing other humanitarian abuses.

The raids have enraged Latino community and religious leaders, immigrant advocates and civil liberties groups important to the Democratic base, who have stepped up pressure on Obama to stop them.

Let’s be honest, this new focus on prosecuting businesses and owners is the administration’s way of pretending to do something about illegal immigration while doing absolutely nothing.  Worse yet the government seems to be encouraging illegal immigration by taking a clear stance opposing law enforcement in this matter.   House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cali.) has recently called the enforcement of current U.S. immigration laws “un-American” and arranged a formal meeting between Obama and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to convey this same message.  Even now Sheriff Joe Arpaio is being investigated by our own Department of Jokes for enforcing U.S. immigration laws. 

Apparently Obama’s pledge to the National Council of La Raza includes more than just amnesty.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cali.) speaking to a group of both legal and illegal immigrants called the enforcement of current U.S. immigrations laws “un-American.”

William Lajeunesse from FoxNews reports:

On Saturday night, Pelosi joined Gutierrez before a cheering crowd at St. Anthony’s chanting, “Si se puede,” or “Yes we can.”

Referring to work site enforcement actions by ICE agents, Pelosi said, “We have to have a change in policy and practice and again … I can’t say enough, the raids must end. The raids must end.

“You are special people. You’re here on a Saturday night to take responsibility for our country’s future. That makes you very, very patriotic.”

Note to Nancy: it’s YOUR job to be responsible with this country’s future.