Immigration News

The Department of Justice has sued the state of California for its obstructions of federal immigration law enforcement. Attorney General Jeff Sessions stated, "The Department of Justice and the Trump Administration are going to fight these unjust, unfair, and unconstitutional policies." California Gov. Jerry Brown replied that the DOJ's move to uphold the rule of law would "further divide and polarize America."

San Francisco's interim mayor Mark Farrell announced that the city aims to spend a large sum of taxpayers' money to provide legal defense for every individual Trump Administration seeks  to deport as an illegal alien. He will seek $7 million from state sources and $3.5 million from the city. Said Farrell, "We are in unprecedented territory here. [Trump] is targeting our immigrant community, here in San Francisco. We are not going to stand for that." He didn't explain what what is "unprecedented" about federal immigration authorities trying to enforce the law or why its wrong to target foreigners for deportation who are residing in our country illegally. 

Although Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf alerted illegal aliens in her city to an upcoming ICE raid, ICE will still able to arrest 232 of them. Among those arrested, said the enforcement agency, were 115 who "had prior felony convictions for serious or violent offenses, such as child sex crimes, weapons charges and assault, or had past convictions for significant or multiple misdemeanors." Schaaf defended her decision to safeguard criminals in her city by saying that "I did what was right for my community as well as protect public safety. People should be able to live without fear or panic and know their rights and responsibilities." Acting ICE Director Tom Homan harshly criticized her action, "What she did is no better than a gang lookout yelling 'police' when a police cruiser comes in the neighborhood, except she did this to a whole community. This beyond the pale." He estimated that as many as 800 illegal aliens were able to escape because of her warning.

A study by U.S. News and World Report lists California as the state with the worst "quality of life" in the nation. This is interesting in light of the claim by immigration advocates that immigration always brings  economic and cultural enrichment. If that were true, California--with the highest number and percentage of immigrants--one would think the state would be near the top. Actually, by general consensus, it did have an excellent quality of life--before mass immigration. Two of the categories in the study were the environment, which is stressed by immigration-fueled population growth, and social engagement which suffers from excessive diversity stemming from immigration.

California' Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom has urged local leaders in California to follow the example of Oakland's Mayor Libby Scghaaf who believes in warning illegal aliens of impending raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). As the San Francisco Chronicle observed, "Not only will Oakland and its police force not cooperate with ICE, but the city will actively seek to thwart efforts to detain and deport [illegal immigrants]."

The LIBRE Initiative is running ads calling DACA illegal aliens 'patriots.' Libre is backed by the Koch brothers, two "conservative" billionaires who support mass immigration. The ad narrated by a DACA illegal alien states, “We work hard, put food on the table, care for our families, and we pledge allegiance to this flag. We are patriots. We are DREAMers."

A common claim of immigration pushers is that immigration always creates prosperity. A good reply is the state of California. As the state with the highest number and percentage of immigrants, it certainly should be showing the enriching effects of immigration. It hasn't. An article exploring this reality recently appeared on The American Thinker website by Spencer Morrisson. Its entitled, "If Immigration Creates Wealth, Why is California America's Poverty Capital?

The government's immigration agency, the USCIS, has changed its mission statement from what it was under the Obama Administration. The new statement gives priority to the interests of the nation and its citizens.   The new statement: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services administers the nation's lawful immigration system, safeguarding its integrity and promise by efficiently and fairly adjudicating requests for immigration benefits while protecting Americans, securing the homeland, and honoring our values. The previous statement: USCIS secures America's promise as a nation of immigrants by providing accurate and useful information to our customers, granting immigration and citizenship benefits, promoting awareness and understanding of citizenship, and ensuring the integrity of our immigration system.

Mexicans working in the U.S., many of whom are illegal aliens, send home more money than any other nationality, a total of $28.1 billion a year. President Trump has proposed that these remittances be taxed to provide funds to build fencing on the Mexican border. 

A lawsuit by the state of Tennessee, if it succeeds, could allow states to get out of the federal refugee resettlement program. Don Barnett, a senior fellow of the Center for Immigration Studies and an expert on refugee policy, notes that the federal government "has shifted the fiscal burden of resettling refugees to the states, often requiring resources be taken from social services, infrastructure, schools, as well as state taxpayer priorities to implement a federal program." He adds that "This was not the intent of the Refugee Act passed in 1980 and likely violates the 10th Amendment."