{"id":9226,"date":"2015-06-27T08:00:36","date_gmt":"2015-06-27T12:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-immigrationreform.pantheonsite.io\/?p=9226"},"modified":"2018-12-28T14:13:47","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T19:13:47","slug":"whatever-obama-says-on-immigration-just-assume-the-opposite-is-true","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2015\/06\/27\/whatever-obama-says-on-immigration-just-assume-the-opposite-is-true\/","title":{"rendered":"Whatever Obama Says on Immigration, Just Assume the Opposite is True"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Obama_Chesh_2\"<\/a>Among other roles, FAIR<\/a> is a vigilant watchdog. Truth-checking each immigration claim made by the Obama administration keeps us busy, sometimes amused and always astonished.<\/p>\n

After years of separating fact from fiction, we can conclude two things. First is that as the deceptions have become more dazzling and audacious, they have become easier to debunk with almost embarrassing ease. Secondly, we can advise with a high level of confidence that whenever Obama, or one of his officials, makes a statement regarding immigration, it\u2019s always prudent to assume that the exact opposite is more likely true.<\/p>\n

Obama\u2019s earliest deceit was revealed, not by us, but simply by the passage of time and the president himself. During his first term, Obama promised to act on behalf of \u201ckids who were brought here through no fault of their own,\u201d thus implying a limited amnesty for a small population. That claim was unabashedly exposed the moment Obama unilaterally ordered two massive amnesties covering not just \u201ckids,\u201d but most illegal aliens up to age 30 and all of their parents. Those combined actions represent a wholesale amnesty for 6-8 million illegal aliens, more than half of all in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Many other lies persist but require a bit of clear thinking to refute:<\/p>\n

Illegal Border Crossings are Down<\/b><\/p>\n

DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson claims<\/a> that illegal border crossings have dropped because apprehensions are down.\u00a0 While this may appear logical, upon analysis we can confirm this statement is a Pinocchio.<\/p>\n

Apprehensions — those who the Border Patrol catch sneaking into the country illegally — are a poor measurement because for every illegal alien caught, about 3 or 4 more get through unnoticed so there are still hundreds of thousands entering every year. Apparently Secretary Johnson \u201cforgot\u201d that the Government Accountability Office recently said the number of apprehensions bears little relationship to effectiveness because agency officials do not compare these numbers with the amount of cross-border illegal activity.<\/p>\n

Even Johnson\u2019s predecessor, Janet Napolitano, acknowledged that the number of apprehensions does not measure the number of people who illegally enter the U.S.<\/p>\n

Finally and most importantly, apprehensions are also a poor measure because we know from insiders at the Border Patrol that they\u2019re not tending the border like they used to because their bosses are instructing them not to do their jobs.<\/p>\n

Illegal Immigration is Dropping<\/b><\/p>\n

Johnson suggests<\/a> that illegal immigration has \u201cdropped considerably since it peaked in 2000.\u201d This would also be known as a Pinocchio, in particular one with a nasal inflammation, but it\u2019s easy to refute<\/a>. In 2000 there were 12.2 million illegal aliens in the U.S. Now there are 11.9 million illegal aliens in the U.S., hardly a \u201cconsiderable drop.\u201d That is about the same number we\u2019ve had for the last five years and it is 36% higher than it was 15 years ago.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re Conducting Smart Worksite Enforcement<\/b><\/p>\n

This particular deception dates back to April 2009 when then DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that DHS would no longer conduct worksite enforcement<\/a> in the form of surprise visits by ICE agents to determine if an employer was hiring illegal aliens.\u00a0 Instead, they said ICE would begin \u201cmore efficient and effective\u201d paper audits of employer\u2019s I-9s. Not surprisingly, the numbers have been dropping. Our partners at the Center for Immigration Studies report that in 2012 there were 240 employer arrests.\u00a0 This year only 65 are projected.<\/p>\n

We also learn \u2013 now years later — that DHS provides employers advance notice of an audit thus guaranteeing that unscrupulous employers will have plenty of time to clean house.<\/p>\n

Removing Criminal Aliens<\/b><\/p>\n

This is a growing and dangerous lie.<\/p>\n

Over the past few years, the Obama administration made a non-consensual agreement with the American public saying that it would not waste resources removing illegal aliens whose \u201conly crime<\/a> is crossing the border illegally.\u201d Instead, the administration claimed it would, \u201cfocus on criminal aliens and national security threats.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neither the American public nor Congress agreed to the new selective enforcement — Obama never asked — nonetheless it became DHS\u2019s priority. But now we learn 30,558 illegal aliens with <\/i>criminal records were released onto the street last year including those with homicide, kidnapping, sexual assault and other serious offenses and convictions. Moreover, this year ICE has already released 10,246 criminal aliens.<\/p>\n

So it was all a lie like a lot of what this administration says. Illegal aliens for the most part are not being removed and neither are many illegal aliens who have felony charges and convictions.<\/p>\n

And that begs the question of the other category of illegal aliens\u2026national security threats.\u00a0 The DHS Secretary\u2019s job is, above all else, to keep Americans safe.\u00a0 Given Johnson\u2019s chronic, fantastical and self-serving deceptions — characteristics which psychologists say are clinical indicators for a diagnosis of compulsive lying —\u00a0 combined with DHS\u2019s current practice of releasing criminal aliens, it\u2019s hard to believe he\u2019s doing much to identify and remove aliens who might be terrorist risks.<\/p>\n

Deportations are Up<\/b><\/p>\n

While this has been the biggest lie and the easiest to disprove<\/a>, it has ironically been Obama\u2019s most effective and lingered the longest.\u00a0 The tide is changing however as the mainstream media — including even the New York Times and Los Angeles Times — has had to acknowledge the cold hard facts and stopped fueling the myth.<\/p>\n

2012\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0410,000<\/span><\/p>\n

2013\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 368,604<\/p>\n

2014\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 306,000<\/p>\n

2015 YTD\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 117,181<\/p>\n

The administration periodically paints a rosy picture of how tough they are on immigration so that they can claim \u201cmission accomplished; let\u2019s enact amnesty and forget about deporting those already here.\u201d\u00a0 As such, we\u2019ll continue debunking the Obama administration\u2019s endless minor omissions and major whoppers but in meantime we stand by our initial advice; assuming the opposite of whatever you hear coming from the Obama administration regarding immigration will enhance accuracy.<\/span><\/p>\n