A friend sent me a little something he saw on Neal Boortz’s site, and I couldn’t help but wonder at the chutzpah of Barack Obama, his administration, and their supporters in Congress and the media.
In fact, chutzpah doesn’t even begin to describe the hypocrisy encapsulated in this little tidbit.
President Obama is planning on attending the graduating ceremony of Kalamazoo Central High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan, next month. He intends to shake the hand of every graduating senior. No big deal; politicians love this sort of “mingling with the commoner” PR moment.
But there’s a catch for those seniors who want the honor of pressing flesh with The One:
Seniors are being asked to provide their birthdates, Social Security numbers and citizen status to the Secret Service so background checks could be performed.
Huh.
What about those Kalamazoo Central High School seniors who might be in our nation illegally? What if they don’t have Social Security numbers and cannot prove their citizenship status? Will the Secret Service give them a pass?
Doubtful. But Obama himself has criticized the state of Arizona for passing a law that would enable law enforcement officers to inquire about the citizenship or green card status of individuals who are stopped for a lawful reason. Yes, despite what media shills are saying, cops can’t just grab you and ask: “Are you a citizen or a green card holder?” The statute states:
For any lawful stop, detention, or arrest made by a law enforcement official or a law enforcement agency of this state or a law enforcement official or a law enforcement agency of a county, city, town or other political subdivision of this state in the enforcement of any other law or ordinance of a county, city or town or this state where reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien and is unlawfully present in the United States, a reasonable attempt shall be made, when practicable, to determine the immigration status of the person, except if the determination may hinder or obstruct an investigation.
Obama called this law “misguided” and ordered his Justice Department to investigate to see whether the law violates civil rights. Interestingly enough, Justice Department head Eric Holder hasn’t had time to read the law yet. Neither has Homeland Security head Janet Napolitano. They are too busy criticizing it.
Even more galling was the reception given to Mexican President Felipe Calderon during a speech he gave at a joint session of Congress this week. He not only bashed the Arizona law, calling it a “terrible idea” that will involve racial profiling against Hispanics, but also called for the U.S. to reinstate an assault weapons ban (somehow he blames the uptick in violence in Mexico on U.S. drug demand and U.S. gun laws).
And Congress gave him a standing ovation. Well, Democrats did.
Meanwhile, after calling us a bunch of bigots for asking for “papers,” Calderon told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer how strict Mexicans are regarding illegals in their own country:
BLITZER: So if people want to come from Guatemala or Honduras or El Salvador or Nicaragua, they want to just come into Mexico, they can just walk in?
CALDERON: No. They need to fulfill a form. They need to establish their right name. We analyze if they have not a criminal precedent. And they coming into Mexico. Actually …
BLITZER: Do Mexican police go around asking for papers of people they suspect are illegal immigrants?
CALDERON: Of course. Of course, in the border, we are asking the people, who are you?
And if they explain …
BLITZER: At the border, I understand, when they come in.
CALDERON: Yes.
BLITZER: But once they’re in …
CALDERON: But not — but not in — if — once they are inside the — inside the country, what the Mexican police do is, of course, enforce the law. But by any means, immigration is a crime anymore in Mexico.
BLITZER: Immigration is not a crime, you’re saying?
CALDERON: It’s not a crime.
BLITZER: So in other words, if somebody sneaks in from Nicaragua or some other country in Central America, through the southern border of Mexico, they wind up in Mexico, they can go get a job …
CALDERON: No, no.
BLITZER: They can work.
CALDERON: If — if somebody do that without permission, we send back — we send back them.
BLITZER: You find them and you send them back?
CALDERON: Yes. However, especially with the people of Guatemala, we are providing a new system in which any single citizen from Guatemala could be able to visit any single border (INAUDIBLE) in the south. And even with all the requirements, he can or she can visit any parts of Mexico.
So he’s saying it’s no longer a crime to be an illegal alien in Mexico (not so true), but the authorities can still ask you for your “papers” even when you aren’t caught in the act of committing a crime, and if they find you don’t have “permission” to be there, they can “send you back.” But in America, that sort of thing is called “racial profiling.” Gotcha.
I guess I can understand why Calderon is upset. Mexico looks upon the U.S. as a pressure valve. As long as there’s a place for the poor, huddled masses to go to get work so they can send money back to the poor, huddled masses back home and further boost Mexico’s failing economy, the nation continues to hobble along. To quote the guys over at HillBuzz: “Mexico should be humiliated that, as a country, it’s so terrible people risk their lives swimming rivers, crossing deserts, and breaking the law to leave.”
But if that pressure valve were to be suddenly cut off, what would happen? I shudder to think.
The federal government dropped the ball on our border a long time ago. Arizona is doing what it must to protect its citizens because the feds refuse to do it. According to recent polls, 60 percent of Americans think local law enforcement should be allowed to inquire about legal status; 65 percent believe states have the right to make their own immigration laws; and according to a poll conducted by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal, 64 percent support the Arizona law (to the utter astonishment of Chuck Todd).
Where is the international outcry when nations like Italy enforce their own tough policies against illegal immigrants, forcing women and newborn babies back onto their boat and sending them back to Tripoli?
And back to Michigan: will Kalamazoo Central High School seniors who cannot provide the proper documentation to the Secret Service have their civil rights violated if they don’t get to shake hands with the great uniter, Barack Obama?
To paraphrase Obama’s own joke at the White House Correspondents’ dinner: “We all know what happens in Arizona my presence when you don’t have ID … adios, amigos!”
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