I’ve seen a few things in the tidal wave of executive orders that make me twitch. I need to fisk them before I say too much more. But for the most part, I’m not complaining, though I reserve the individual right to scratch those itches. I suspect there are a few things that deserve more scrutiny, especially as Congress (if Congress) takes them up to get them into law and out of the EO turnstile.
Immigration is, of course, not one of those problems. We have laws, they are simply enforced or not so any call to enforce the law is reasonable until Congress changes it. Mr. Trump, familiar with this game from 1.0 has wheeled into the oval rhetorical guns blazing and a lot of solid existing federal law behind him.
“Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing, and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands or requests,” the memo states, raising the possibility of charges for harboring immigrants without legal status or for failing to share information with immigration authorities.
That sets the stage for possible legal action against local officials in so-called sanctuary cities and states that limit their cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Add the Laken Riley act and we’re off to the races. The US Government has an obligation, and states can now sue it for failing to take that seriously – not an issue, I suspect, in the next few years. And with Pam Bondi as a confirmed AG, the Office of the President has made one thing clear. It is against the law to obstruct federal immigration enforcement officials in the course of their duties, and they will charge and prosecute.
County sheriffs aside, of course, and I bet we’ll see that played out soon enough. But in most instances, the poisonous snakes who talked a big game about sanctuary until the Biden administration showed them what it might mean have a decision to make. ICE is coming to clean up after you. What you gonna do?
I take the DOJs sweeping threat of prosecution to include anyone anywhere from civilians to NGOs to activists to politicians to local law enforcement. All under the presumption of exiting power under federal law, and as we all know, thanks to Barry and Joe, obstruction is a crime that could come with some serious consequences.
The mayor or Governor of Sanctuary (this or that) may talk a good game, but if the people on the ground are unwilling to go to jail, it won’t mean much, and with few exceptions, those folks appear to be coming around.
As for countries that don’t want their criminals back, didn’t they set up camps along the conveyor route from South to North America? Why wouldn’t it work the same in the other direction? Trump declared the Cartels as Terrorist organizations. They’ll get some added attention, which can’t upset Mexicans as much as it does Democrats.