THAT AIN'T GONNA FLY

The Washington Times’ Charles Hurt is reporting about a provision of the Senate Immigration Reform legislation that simply won’t fly. Here’s what Mr. Hurt says about the provision:

Out of deference to the confidentiality concerns of foreigners in the U.S., the bill would bar state and local police from detaining aliens simply for being in the U.S. illegally. Police could arrest the aliens only if they commit certain additional violations of federal immigration law such as marriage fraud or document counterfeiting.

It’s amazing the amount of warts that are coming out due to the House hearings. This would be among the dumbest provisions in law enforcement legislation that I’ve ever heard of. It’s a joke that’s about to get squashed by the House negotiators and with good reason.

“This is a time bomb that is just waiting to do a lot of damage,” former U.S. Department of Justice lawyer Kris Kobach told The Washington Times yesterday. “Either it will be the damage done by terrorists in this country or it will be the damage done to our ability to control illegal immigration.” The wall, which opponents say is similar to the one criticized by the September 11 commission for hampering efforts to prevent terrorist attacks, is getting closer attention after Mr. Royce held immigration hearings last week in California and Texas. Mr. Kobach, who served as counsel to former Attorney General John Ashcroft and now teaches at University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Law, was among those who testified.

Frankly, I want to know who put that provision into the bill and if it got debated on the Senate floor. If it did, who voted for it? If this was snuck in as part of a last minute amendment, that’s one thing. That would leave open the possibility of a lone senator playing games. On the other hand, if this was fully debated and passed with each senator knowing what was in this amendment, then whoever voted for passage should be chastised and embarassed for such a stunt.

Hurt is right on the money in saying that this is just like the Gorelick Wall, which prevented the CIA from sharing information with the FBI, something that might’ve allowed us to detect the 9/11 terrorists.

Mr. Kobach told the House panel last week that four of the 19 September 11 hijackers had committed immigration violations and had been stopped by state and local police before the attacks. In particular, he pointed to Ziad Samir Jarrah, the Lebanese terrorist in the country on a six-month tourist visa that he had overstayed. On Sept. 9, 2001, Jarrah was stopped going 90 mph on Interstate 95 in Maryland and given a $270 speeding ticket, which was later found in the glove compartment at the Newark airport in New Jersey, where he boarded United Flight 93.
“If the officer had asked a few questions and determined that he was illegal, he could have made the arrest,” Mr. Kobach said. “If the officer had called the Law Enforcement Support Center, which operates 24/7 out of Vermont, the officer could have concluded that he was illegal and could have made the arrest.”

With the enactment of the USA Patriot Act, the Gorelick Wall came crashing down. I just wish it had never existed in the first place. Now some senator or group of senators is trying to re-build that wall so that we can’t catch illegal immigrants. Americans everywhere should insist that this provision be among the first deletions the Conference Committee makes.

What that provision says is that this senator (these senators?) aren’t serious about border enforcement and that isn’t acceptable at all. Period.