The last I checked federal bureaucrats are supposed to implement the administration's policies, not publicly obstruct them.
So why is Christopher Crane, President of the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council -- the union of 7,000 immigration agents, officers, and employees -- engaging in a pattern of open insubordination designed to thwart the president's effort to deport dangerous criminal aliens and national security risks?
Crane is livid about President Obama's Deferred Action plan, announced on June 15, to temporarily defer the removal of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. years ago as children and have shown promise by furthering their education or preparing to serve in the U.S. armed forces. Crane has the audacity to publicly challenge President Obama's view that it makes more sense to deport violent criminals and national security risks than young students, graduates, and veterans. Someone should remind Crane that the American people elected Mr. Obama president, not him.
Crane was a featured speaker Monday at a Capitol Hill press conference organized by a group of Republican Senators to denounce the President's Deferred Action program. According to press reports, the ICE union president claimed:
Prosecutorial discretion for dreamers is solely based on the individual's claims. Our orders are if an alien says they went to high school, then let them go... Officers have been told that there is no burden for the alien to prove anything... At this point we don't even know why DHS has criteria at all, as there is no requirement or burden to prove anything on the part of the alien.
Crane is either intentionally trying to mislead the public or he hasn't bothered to read the Deferred Action guidance posted on ICE's website. It squarely puts the burden on the alien applicant to prove he or she qualifies:
Only those individuals who can prove through verifiable documentation that they meet these criteria will be eligible for deferred action. Individuals will not be eligible if they are not currently in the United States and cannot prove that they have been physically present in the United States for a continuous period of not less than five years immediately preceding today's date. The use of prosecutorial discretion confers no substantive right or pathway to citizenship. Only the Congress, acting through its legislative authority, can confer these rights.
This isn't the first time Crane has played fast and loose with the facts in an effort to undercut the administration. Last year he openly deplored ICE Director John Morton's prosecutorial discretion policy which, frankly, empowered ICE agents to focus their efforts on arresting and removing dangerous criminal aliens in an effort to keep America safer.
Crane's reaction to the administration's enforcement priorities shows that the union's leadership, apparently out of touch with its own members, is hell bent on maintaining the status quo -- indiscriminate arrest, detention, prosecution, and deportation of immigrants -- without thinking about what's best for America. Where was Mr. Crane earlier this year when it was reported that the administration deported over a million people, more than any administration before it? Nor has Crane said a word about the fact that since Mr. Obama took office in 2009, illegal border crossings have dropped to their lowest point since the 1970s.
Crane's comments hardly reflect what the ICE union's rank and file think is good for America. They demonstrate the self-interested fears of an entrenched bureaucrat attempting, at all costs, to resist positive change; a desperate hold on a tired policy that has outlived its effectiveness. Unfortunately, for the ICE union's many hard working agents, Crane's knee-jerk, mutinous reaction to President Obama's immigration enforcement policies is narrow minded, short sighted, and misses the point. The danger to an American community is less likely to come from a gifted student than from a dangerous felon or terrorist.
But where does Crane come off attempting to set administration policy? Since when does the soldier tell the general what to do? It is nothing less than shameful, indeed scandalous, that this ICE bureaucrat would work in cahoots with the president's political opponents to thwart legitimate policy objectives. Crane's statements are chalk-full of unsubstantiated allegations and vitriolic language but short on considered analysis. Not surprisingly, Crane offers no immigration policy solutions.
President Obama's Deferred Action program is hardly the answer to a dysfunctional immigration law badly in need of repair. That's Congress' job and, hopefully, one day soon it will deliver a safe, orderly, and fair immigration policy which will keep America secure and prosperous.
As for ICE Agent Christopher Crane, it's high time his superiors demand his badge and show him the door.
Follow David Leopold on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DavidLeopold
Kristian Ramos: President Obama's Deferred Action: A Fair Compromise on Immigration Enforcement
You may request consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals if you:
• Were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012;
• Came to the United States before reaching your 16th birthday;
• Have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, up to the present time;
o Were physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012, and at the time of making your request for consideration of deferred action with USCIS;
• Entered without inspection before June 15, 2012, or your lawful immigration status expired as of June 15, 2012;
o Are currently in school, have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, have obtained a general education development (GED) certificate, or are an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States; and
o Have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, three or more other misdemeanors, and do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safet
So agents are basically not doing the job they are hired for.. Arrest and then let others work it out
The President has gone to great lengths to stipulate that this is not an executive order. But at the same time he has taken full credit for it! Exactly how stupid does he think we are?
If it walks like a duck and looks like a duck and sounds like a duck - well guess what???
If as they insist it is truly discretionary then it is totally up to the ICE agent, and they cannot command them to not do their job.
So Bottom line Mr Leopold - since they cannot command any agent to break the law, there is really nothing that Napolitano or Obama can do if the ICE agents decide to exercise discretion in a way other than their one eyed political agenda.
Again per the Morton memo, and until our laws are re-written by congress, ICE really does not have discretion and is bound to put people here without permission into removal proceedings once they are aware of them. These proceedings may really only be deferred and will conveniently be up for review and up for renewal in 2 years time - this is all just cheap trick by Obama to try to pressure Latino's to vote for him.
Reminding Barack Obama that he is president of the U.S., not king.
"The last I checked federal bureaucrats are supposed to implement the administration's policies, not publicly obstruct them."
The last I checked the Constitution, a president is supposed to execute Congress' laws, not ignore them and make up his own:
Obama’s policy strategy: Ignore laws
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0612/77486.html
Obama vs. Congress—and the Law
The president has taken a hatchet to welfare reform, the immigration laws, and 'No Child Left Behind.'
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443343704577550832007759536.html
It does trump all else. Do you prefer autocracy?
"take an advance law school class on understanding it. Only then can you have an INFORMED opinion as to what it allows or does not."
The articles I linked quote constitutional scholars. Do you want to personally attack them as not having an informed opinion?
Crane is either intentionally trying to mislead the public or he hasn't bothered to read the Deferred Action guidance posted on ICE's website. It squarely puts the burden on the alien applicant to prove he or she qualifies"
Sounds like you are confusing the enforcement priority in the field with deferred action. They are completely different. It is possible that ICE agents could be told not to enforce in the way Crane describes while still having the deferred action process as posted on ICE's website.
How can you expect ICE USBP employees to know what's going on?
Obama ~ "We all have to play by the same set of rules" - - - - Only thing, Obama keeps changing the rules to gain political advantage for his re-election ~ Etch-a-Sketch?
They could listen to the President's speech, or even check their own ICE website, which was linked to in the article, which you obviously didn't bother to read.
Shame on you for simply distorting the situation to try and score partisan points. But I really doubt if you will be successful in swaying any votes.
From Tony3's post:
Came to the United States before reaching your 16th birthday;
• Have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, up to the present time;
o Were physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012, and at the time of making your request for consideration of deferred action with USCIS;
• Entered without inspection before June 15, 2012, or your lawful immigration status expired as of June 15, 2012;
How do you 'prove' any of that? Illegals are quite comfortable using stolen SS#'s and fake IDs. They are comfortable lying to get a job. A nice side industry will grow providing fake documentation - everyone's a Dreamer.
Border Patrol agents spend their day chasing dishwashers. They have, as a rule no formal education and make good money with good health benefits and retirement that rival if not exceeds Teachers, Police Officers and Fire Fighters unions . Thanks to the Border Patrol Union.
Did I just say Union? Why no Republican would support a "Border Patrol Union." That is unless he or she is a two face.
Just have to raise taxes to pay their salaries, or re-adjust existing budgets to fund
Start your sales job ~ let's put it to a vote of the U.S. Taxpayers . .. ... ....
The whole point of the article is that the Border Patrol union is intent on arresting and deporting graduates, rather than focusing their efforts on the members of drug cartels, as the President has directed them to do.
You didn't even bother to read the article before commenting, did you, Texan?
As an individual working in our nations immigration system; I can whole heartedly tell you that Mr. Crane is speaking on the greater majority of the enforcement body of ICE (ERO). This is the genuine consensus of enforcement agents throughout the US. We spend a significant amount of our time now evaluating cases for potential benefits eligible to the alien instead of what our most basic job description entails. An already difficult job has now become even more convoluted.
David, yes, we are annoyed with the President's executive orders. I understand the complexity with removing aliens who were brought here as children. I do this for a living. However, I want you to understand why more than any other reason we detest this movement... The Deferred Action is renewable and the fact that their parents are a derived beneficiary. By my math, a 14 year old has 16 more years of eligibility and his father, who may or may not be a criminal, is going to be here for at least another 4. The next article you write, stay a bit more objective. I understand subjectivity gets you lengthly responses such as mine, but it doesn't get you any plaudits.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment.
However, nowhere in your comment do you address the fact that the administration is targeting dangerous criminals and national security risks. Prosecutorial discretion, as you know, is a key law enforcement tool--it makes more sense to first go after the armed robber, not the jay walker. Also, prosecutorial discretion empowers field agents to make important enforcement choices that better protect our communities. Blind enforcement does not.
I'm not sure I understand the calculations in the second paragraph of your comment. There is no derivative deferred action status ie the parents of those who receive Deferred Action get no special treatment or right to be in the US. Nor is their deportation deferred.
Finally, as far as criminals go, I would refer you to the Deferred Action policy posted on the Department of Homeland Security Website (see link in my column above). It clearly provides that no one convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, burglary, etc. will be eligible for a deferral of removal.
In any event, although we can agree to disagree, I appreciate you taking the time to comment.
Prosecutorial Discretion has been around as long as the United States has been removing aliens. The initial memo by Morton was the first time anyone has ever put it on paper. Internally, the memo was more along the lines of... "if you go into a house looking for Joe and if Joe isn't there but 10 of Joe's friends are; don't come back to the office with Joe's 10 friends."
I failed to articulate how a parent could be a beneficiary of a child granted DA under the S1/PD memo. We are simply not going to remove a single mother to a child who is granted this DA even if she is a 3 time reentry with an aggravated felony. It just does not happen. When we do try and enforce the law in these situations; we end of on the front page of the local newspaper.
And btw, this administration has truthfully done nothing more than any previous regime for enforcing immigration law. Yea, deportations are way up... we finally started watching the border.. Border Patrol removes and returns most of those statistics. An officer who works in a jail maybe deports 6 people a month.
We have seen time and time again, how illegal aliens work the system, and avoid deportation. From Edwin Ramos who committed a triple homocide, to the LAPD not handing over the illegal alien gangmember who killed Jamil Shaw Jr.
Do not come up in here, write some sob story, as if Mr. Crane is inventing some story off of the top of his head. We are seeing more and more stories like his everyday, where illegal alien committing homocide are not deported.
If you think I am making this up, google Don Roseberg, whose 25 yr old son was killed by an illegal alien driver who was released by police who violated the California state impound law by not impounding his car.
Please acknowledge that the President is the one who was elected by the people to set policy, not you, SR20DET.
It is not your place to worry about who "benefits," but rather to follow the instructions that your superiors set out for you. As Americans, we would like to be assured us that you have no plans to be insubordinate solely because of your personal feelings..