{"id":13579,"date":"2017-02-01T12:58:17","date_gmt":"2017-02-01T17:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-immigrationreform.pantheonsite.io\/?p=13579"},"modified":"2018-12-28T13:01:50","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T18:01:50","slug":"the-open-borders-cabals-obsession-with-the-definition-of-criminal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2017\/02\/01\/the-open-borders-cabals-obsession-with-the-definition-of-criminal\/","title":{"rendered":"The Open Borders Cabal\u2019s Obsession with the \u201cDefinition\u201d of Criminal"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Copyright:

Copyright: sakhorn38 – iStock<\/p><\/div>\n

The New York Times<\/i> recently published a scare piece<\/a> claiming that President Trump\u2019s Executive Order on interior immigration enforcement expanded the definition of \u201ccriminal.\u201d\u00a0 It claims the order gives \u201cimmigration officers the broad authority they have been pressing for, and no longer requires them to receive a review from a supervisor before targeting individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Times <\/i>claim is utter nonsense. Pursuant to the terms of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), immigration officers have always had the authority to arrest immigration violators. The approval of a supervisor is not required. Only Congress can change this statute. In fact, the president has an obligation under Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution to \u201ctake care that the laws be faithfully executed\u201d as they are written.<\/p>\n

The Obama administration, however, implemented its \u201cPriority Enforcement Program<\/a>,\u201d which essentially halted all meaningful immigration enforcement. In essence, President Obama directed the Department of Homeland Security to refrain from faithfully executing the immigration laws of the United States. Ever since, open borders advocates have been disingenuously implying that only illegal aliens with \u201cserious\u201d criminal convictions are subject to removal from the United States. But this is a deliberate attempt to mislead the public made by those who simply dislike the concept of any immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n

All illegal aliens are removable from the United States whether they have committed other crimes or not. Despite the use of deceptive names like \u201cundocumented immigrants,\u201d illegal aliens are, by definition, unlawfully present in the United States and are subject to deportation solely because they lack authorization to be here. (In addition, they may be charged with the criminal offense of \u201cImproper Entry by an Alien<\/a>.\u201d) \u00a0Noncitizens lawfully present in the United States who commit specified criminal offenses are also subject to deportation. The INA is quite clear on both of these points.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the open borders lobby would have Americans believe that deporting anyone who hasn\u2019t been convicted of an egregious criminal offense constitutes some type of major civil rights violation. But this too is utter nonsense. The law simply says that United States won\u2019t tolerate trespassers and criminals. To most Americans, that seems like common sense.<\/p>\n

President Trump hasn\u2019t expanded the definition of criminal. By simply adhering to the existing provisions of the INA he\u2019s fulfilling his constitutional obligation to see that the immigration laws are faithfully executed. And in so doing, he\u2019s demonstrated that \u2013 unlike illegal aliens, criminals, and open borders advocates \u2013 he respects both the law and the American taxpayer.