Cambridge, Massachusetts, has\nlong been noted for being on the radical fringe. But it has gone completely\noverboard with its latest attempt to protest America\u2019s immigration laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Cambridge City Council recently passed an ordinance<\/a> directing the city\u2019s police department to refrain from arresting<\/a> illegal alien drivers who are found to be operating a motor vehicle without a license.\u00a0 Instead, it will issue a summons, directing illegal aliens to appear in state court to face misdemeanor charges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cambridge is already a so-called \u201csanctuary city<\/a>.\u201d However, this new ordinance is meant to further shield illegal aliens from potential arrest and deportation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which uses both state arrest records and DMV databases<\/a> to locate illegal aliens<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under Massachusetts law<\/a>, driving without a license is a misdemeanor that carries a fine ranging from $500 to $1,000 and\/or imprisonment for up to ten days. Local police in the Commonwealth generally take unlicensed drivers into custody and impound the vehicle they were operating. This is done in order to protect the public and give officers a chance to determine whether the driver \u2013 who can\u2019t be positively identified by motor vehicle records \u2013 has any outstanding warrants or other relevant criminal history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nevertheless, Cambridge appears\nto be more worried about shielding illegal aliens from federal immigration\nenforcement than it does about upholding the laws of the Commonwealth or\nprotecting its citizens. And this is no symbolic action that is free of any\nreal-world consequences. It should concern anyone who cares about law and\norder. The Cambridge City Council\u2019s diktat ensures a number of disturbing\noutcomes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cambridge is also sending a clear message that it has no respect for American-style federalism<\/a>. Under our constitution, city governments don\u2019t make decisions about who ICE should arrest, or when, where and how it should take them in to custody. Those are responsibilities delegated entirely to the federal government. And if Cambridge wishes to change U.S. immigration laws, it should petition its representatives in Congress to change them. Instead, it has decided to unilaterally undermine them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cambridge City Councilor Quinton Zondervan has stated that the driving ordinance is meant \u201cto protect our community members from a federal government that\u2019s out of control.\u201d But who is really out of control? The federal government that is enforcing duly enacted immigration laws or the City of Cambridge, which is encouraging foreign nationals to break both federal and state laws. To anyone who values the<\/a> rule of law, the answer should be obvious.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cambridge, Massachusetts, has long been noted for being on the radical fringe. But it has gone completely overboard with its latest attempt to protest America\u2019s immigration laws. The Cambridge City Council recently passed an ordinance directing the city\u2019s police department to refrain from arresting illegal alien drivers who are found to be operating a motor<\/p>\n