I’ve been in and the thick of the battle against illegal immigration for more than 20 years. Just when I think that I have seen it all or heard it all, something happens to remind me that there may be something even crazier to come.
If you are searching for a place that takes the debate about illegal immigration to the next level of absurdity, you generally need to look no further than Cook County, Illinois – otherwise known to illegal aliens as the rabbit hole that leads to Wonderland.
In Alice in Wonderland, Alice falls into the rabbit hole and the whole world becomes topsy-turvy. This classic is known as “literary nonsense” because it is formal dictation and tone, balanced with elements of absurdity. It uses sensical and nonsensical elements to defy language conventions or logical reasoning.
The definition of literary nonsense is the best description I can conjure up to describe the ordinance passed yesterday by Cook County, in a vote of 10-5, which will allow the Cook County Sheriff to choose whether or not the county will comply with ICE detainers on a case by case basis.
The ordinance gives the Cook County Sheriff “discretion to honor detainers by ICE when there is a ‘legitimate law enforcement purpose’.” In other words, Cook County wants to decide who gets deported from the country. Deciding whether ICE has a “legitimate law enforcement purpose” for wanting to remove someone from the country is kind of what courts are for.
This ordinance is a classic example of “literary nonsense.” Cook County, which has a long history of protecting illegal aliens, is creating laws carefully designed to limit its ability to help enforce other laws. And they seem to have succeeded in that effort, at least according to Joshua Hoyt, Director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Hoyt hailed the ordinance as somehow demonstrating the “rule of law” because it shields illegal aliens from law enforcement is extreme absurdity at its finest.
The truth is that this is another shining example of Chicago elected officials placating and pandering to lawbreakers, while slapping the face of fellow law enforcement, jeopardizing public safety and pretending what they do is honorable, good and good for the taxpayers who elected them.
The fact is Illinois is among the most fiscally strapped states in the nation. Additionally, Illinois spends $4.3 billion each year for costs associated with illegal immigration, $379.7 million of which goes to the costs in the Justice system alone. Yet Cook County will now choose if and when they will turn over an illegal alien charged with a crime or wanted by Immigration Customs Enforcement.
Cook County is a sanctuary county. But it goes even further as it allows law breakers to come before the court each year to petition for expungement of criminal records, regardless of immigration status. This is so the criminal activity doesn’t show up on their record, if and when amnesty is introduced. Expungement can include Identity Theft.
No doubt, Lewis Carroll would feel right at home in Illinois and might easily identify his rabbit hole leading to Wonderland on the shores of Lake Michigan. In fact, most of what comes from Illinois with regards to illegal immigration is Literary Nonsense. Think about the statement “The border is more secure than ever” by President Obama in El Paso last May. Compare and contrast the Reuters report this very day, that Border Patrol found rocket launchers and explosives in McAllen, Texas. Oh…but wait…there is a common thread! President Obama hails from Wonderland too!