More “Prosecutorial Discretion”
July 17, 2013
ADAM writes:
Here’s another instance of government officials refusing to enforce the law which they swore to uphold simply because they do not like the law. In this country, we are fast abandoning rule of law in favor of arbitrary rule by the opinions of whomever is currently in power. Rather than equal protection under the law (and equal penalties for breaking the law), we now have certain groups which are privileged above others in that our government has decided that the law must not apply to them. From the Arizona Republic:
The Figueroas faced a hearing on Wednesday where they could have been sent to Mexico.
Both pleaded guilty to a Class 6 felony charge of criminal impersonation related to their jobs at the Lindstrom Family Auto Wash in Phoenix.
. . .
“After conducting a comprehensive review of the Figueroas’ immigration case, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has chosen to exercise prosecutorial discretion in this matter,” the e-mail said.
“ICE is focused on sensible, effective immigration enforcement that prioritizes the removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration law violators,” the e-mail said.
The move effectively closes the immigration case against the couple. It remains open, but off the calendar. It can be re-opened, according to ICE policy, if the couple commits a crime that constitutes a removable act.
In the meantime, the couple can live and work in the U.S. indefinitely.
It seems this couple has committed a crime, pled guilty to committing that crime, and then was rewarded by our federal government with the gift of de facto permanent residency. The current administration has open contempt for immigration law and cares absolutely nothing for the negative consequences of large-scale illegal immigration to U.S. citizens.
If I used a false identity on important financial or legal documents, and I pled guilty to doing so, I don’t think the prosecutor would suddenly drop its case against me. This privilege of forgery and fraud is only extended to illegal immigrants from Latin America.
One wonders how serious the crime needs to be in order to be considered “egregious” enough for the new ICE to step in and actually do its job. Is burglary enough? Robbery? Distribution of illicit drugs? Assault? Murder? Where is the threshold beyond which ICE will no longer ignore the presence of the illegal immigrant?
Perhaps the Obama administration would be so kind as to give us a list of the laws which are still in effect and those which we can safely ignore.
