Like the war on terrorism, progress in the immigration war is also mixed.
A federal judge in San Francisco has temporarily prevented the Department of
Homeland Security and Social Security Administration from using mismatched
Social Security data to penalize employers who hire illegal aliens. The
decision came as welcome news to the AFL-CIO, various "immigrants' rights"
groups and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce who are behind a lawsuit that claims
the federal government's actions are a violation of the law.
Judge Charles Breyer, a Clinton appointee like his brother the Supreme Court
justice, said the federal crackdown would likely impose hardships on
businesses and their illegal workers, causing "serious irreparable harm."
What about the prospect of irreparable harm to the country if what amounts
to an open-border policy is allowed to continue?
In Oklahoma, the toughest immigration law in the country was allowed to take
effect when U.S. District Judge James H. Payne refused to accept arguments
from Hispanic and immigrants rights groups who tried to block it. According
to the Washington Times, the measure, House Bill 1804, "prevents illegal
aliens from getting driver's licenses, denies them every possible public
service or benefit not required by federal law, gives state and local police
the ability to enforce immigration laws and beginning next year, requires
employers to check new employees' identities through a federal database. Š
The judge allowed the law to take effect while the case proceeds."
Local and state elections this week are expected to further contribute to
the controversy, as voters decide on ballot initiatives and candidates that
favor or oppose the protection of illegal immigrants. In Prince William
County, Va., which has one of the country's largest illegal immigrant
populations, local filmmakers Annabel Park and Eric Byler feature the
ugliness of the debate on YouTube.
As reported by the Washington Post, on one video "a man furious about
hearing Spanish at a hardware store berates a group of Latino families with
a lecture on American history, telling them Œmy ancestors were here before
the Constitution.' A little girl shyly reminds him: ŒThe Indians were here
before the Americans.'"
In another posting, frustrated residents denounce a "foreign invasion" and
warn of "civil war," to which one scowling young man taunts: "Bring it."