You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
-Lurid Crime Tales-
Napolitano: Illegal Immigration NOT a Crime?
2009-04-21
On Sunday, April 19, 2009, Secretary Napolitano went on CNN’s “State of the Union” and proclaimed that crossing the border illegally is not a crime. This statement left a lot of folks scratching their heads given that U.S. law—the law Napolitano is sworn to uphold—says quite the opposite. Section 8, Title 1325 of the U.S. code clearly states that those who enter the U.S. illegally are committing a crime.

This ‘interpretation’ of the law by Secretary Napolitano seems to be the latest in an effort by the Obama Administration to scale back interior immigration enforcement efforts in the United States. As recently as March 28th, Napolitano made the decision to delay a series of immigration raids and other workplace actions aimed at finding illegal workers. At the same time, both President Obama and Secretary Napolitano have announced new initiatives intending to send the message that they take the issues at the southern border seriously. But the Administration cannot fight cartels while ignoring illegal immigration—people smuggling is part of the problem, not a separate issue. Legalization will only make matters worse. Granting the people here illegally asylum will only encourage more illegal border crossing. Likewise, failing to enforce workplace and immigration laws will only encourage more to ignore the law.

The fight has to go beyond the border. Just adding inspections on people heading south is not going to work. Homeland Security will inconvenience everyone but the smugglers who donÂ’t care if some of their loads get caught and will seek alternative routes. On the U.S. side, there has to be a robust integrated response of federal, state, and local law enforcement at the regional level (meshing with is going on in California, Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico) that targets the cartel and transnational gang networks. At the local level, the U.S. needs more community policing that targets criminal elements in the border community. That means more support and assistance for border county sheriff departments.

Secretary Napolitano’s job is to follow and enforce the law—not to use her authority to undermine it.
Posted by:Beavis

#21  she wears comfortable shoes. That's all I'm saying
Posted by: Frank G   2009-04-21 23:15  

#20  Iblis
Yes, not all men are rakes. I meant it in the sense Janet might be one. I do think her morals are at issue. She doesn't seem to think keeping illegals out is a priority which is pure hogwash.
Posted by: GirlThursday   2009-04-21 20:11  

#19  The real reason for this Napolitano assertion just screams from the page - if they aren't illegal, there can be no barrier to AMNESTY, and 12-15million new Democrat voters to permanently fleece the American people through tranfer of wealth programs........and oh by the way, amke the Democrats the ruling elite for as long as the nation lasts until it stumbles and falls, like Rome done in by soft-headed twits, social progressives and lawyers.....
Posted by: NoMoreBS   2009-04-21 19:44  

#18  Anonymoose, think about the logic of what you said. Not the legal flatulence, the logic. If a person is here with no evidence of legal entry, but no one saw them enter, you assert it is a cicl matter becasue there is no proof of crime. Horse manure. It is like the way everyone is saying the "alledged pirate". Insane, and just because it is wrapped in legal jargon, still insane. The little shit was in the g-d boat and only came on board the Bainbridge to get free medical attention. What can any reasonable person draw from to support "alledged"? This kind of specious reasoning dressed up as law is killing us....
The reasonable answer is...no papers, deport, pirate - hang, in both cases with as little cost to the over-burdened American taxpayer as possible!
Posted by: NoMoreBS   2009-04-21 19:40  

#17  Proposed border signage:

ATENCION ATENCION!

IF YOU CAN READ THIS SIGN YOU ARE WITHIN RANGE!
Posted by: Besoeker   2009-04-21 19:33  

#16  She is a man trapped inside a woman's body, a rake.

Pretty sure you didn't mean this the way it sounds. Not all men are rakes, and some women are.

Besides, her morals are not at issue. It's her sanity we must question.
Posted by: Iblis   2009-04-21 19:31  

#15  Newc:
youre right. alternate definition of rake:
"debauchee, libertine, rounder - a dissolute person; usually a man who is morally unrestrained" She is a man trapped inside a woman's body, a rake.
Posted by: GirlThursday   2009-04-21 18:01  

#14  Imagine how fast their tune would change if illegals starting voting for Republicans.
Posted by: Iblis   2009-04-21 17:56  

#13  I would not call her a hoe. more like a rake.
Posted by: newc   2009-04-21 17:19  

#12  Ten times worse than even Janet Reno was, and that hoe was bad.
Posted by: Unutle Brown8234   2009-04-21 16:54  

#11  All those illegals with the phony social security numbers vote Democrat, so....
Posted by: rwv   2009-04-21 15:13  

#10  Bad choice of words, but Napolitano is half right. That is, unless you have been *observed* illegally border crossing, it has long been regarded as a "non-prosecutable misdemeanor offense."

And once you are an illegal alien inside the US, it is a civil, not a criminal offense to be here. The serious felonies are both for human traffickers, and individuals who have been legally barred from reentry.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2009-04-21 14:17  

#9  This is not surprise except by the brazen nature of the assertion. Just plain and simple, this administration only plans to enforce the laws that it choses. This is the beginning of the Imperium, not another presidency. These folks feel they are above the law, and above the constitution and above the oath each one took to support and defend the Constitution and "enforce the law." This screams for response in the courts, and punishing public reaction against this idiot at DHS.
Posted by: NoMoreBS   2009-04-21 13:49  

#8  Jan "Bigfoot" Napolitano does not have the role of interpreting the law, just enforcing it. She should wait until AG Holder determines that the law doesn't say what it says and then not enforce it.
Posted by: Ebberetch Squank7960   2009-04-21 13:37  

#7  Let me get this stright. The Secretary of Homeland Security - this is the department responsible for securing our homeland - is claiming that violating our borders is *not* a crime?

This is The Onion right? Please let it be The Onion

I wonder what will be her excuse when (not if) another 9/11 type attack is successful.
Posted by: CrazyFool   2009-04-21 13:14  

#6  Obama campaigned and was elected largely on an illusion. It shouldnÂ’t come as any big surprise that his administration would set policy any different.

Come one come all and witness The Amazing Obama as he performs the famous “Rhams-Crisis” mirage.
Folks as you can plainly see thereÂ’s nothing up his sleeve as his lovely assistant Hillary shares the blame for border violence and a Mexican economy in the dumper.
Watch as he waves his magic wand. AndÂ…prestoÂ… more ICE agents are sent to the border to combat the banditos.
For the grand finaleÂ…AbracadabraÂ…the skeleton resources needed for interior operations end up performing the interdiction duties reserved for the Mexican border authorities.

And the applause from the Latino special interest groups is deafening.
Posted by: DepotGuy   2009-04-21 12:59  

#5  Same group who've managed to turn tax evasion into a virtue.

Posted by: Zorba Craising6734   2009-04-21 12:29  

#4  Illegal immigration is not a crime -but being a conservative or a veteran is!
Posted by: Frozen Al   2009-04-21 12:18  

#3  I guess it's OK for anybody from anywhere in the whole wide world to just come on in then. Come on, folks! You're all welcome! Get your welfare checks. Free welfare checks! Hurry while they last.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2009-04-21 11:41  

#2  illegally --- is not a crime

Officer, I took this Ferrari off the lot illegally, but it is not a crime. Janet Napolitano, mouthpiece for President Obama, says so.
Posted by: ed   2009-04-21 10:34  

#1  Lawlessness is an obama administrative imperitive.
Posted by: newc   2009-04-21 10:04  

00:00