Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Enforce the Law   [Mark Krikorian]

The White House has issued a fact sheet entitled "Only Enforcing Our Ineffective Current Law Leaves the Nation Vulnerable," online here. I'm guessing it was in response to my piece in the current issue of the magazine (which you could read now if you were a subscriber) listing a few of the things the administration could have been doing over the past six years — under current law — if they were actually interested in enforcement.

Some of the fact sheet's claims are so disingenuous as to be amusing. It says that if the amnesty bill passes, the employer fines for hiring illegals will go up. Well, that's great, except that this administration has all but stopped fining employers, so who cares what the size of the never-issued fines are? It also says that under the Senate bill, the punishment for illegals caught re-entering the country would be more severe; again, that's just peachy, except that U.S. Attorney offices seldom prosecute people even for the felony of re-entry after deportation — what difference would stiffer penalties make when no one is prosecuted?

I actually feel sorry for the folks at the White House press office for having to put out this sort of drivel.

06/26 06:47 PMShare