Will 'sanctuary' cities be the first issue... |
Chicago is one such place – where people whose immigration status is uncertain are supposed to not fear interactions with local police because our cops don’t automatically turn over such information to federal immigration officials.
IN
SHORT, GETTING pulled over for a traffic ticket or a petty offense will be
treated solely as the petty offense it is, and not balloon into an immigration
hearing with deportation consequences.
But
now that we’re in the era where we will soon have a “President Donald J. Trump”
who campaigned on the notion that he was going to give rise to the number of
deportations from this country and otherwise keep out people he deems
undesirable, it has some wondering what happens next.
I
stumbled across an Internet comment (anonymous, of course) from someone who
wants the new president to start punishing local officials, including our very
own Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who don’t get with the program on immigration
enforcement.
“Trump
could even prosecute Rahm for things like obstruction of justice and could lock
that dirty little f*cker up for the rest of his miserable life,” he (or she)
wrote.
GEE,
FIRST THESE people were chanting at the Republican convention for the
incarceration of Hillary Clinton. Now they want the mayor of Chicago locked up
for not fitting their ideological hang-ups. For people who probably think they’re
“real Americans,” I find it odd they’re so eager to turn this country into a
police state!
But
the pressure is being put on cities that made themselves sanctuaries because
there are those ideological nut cases who want to make people not like
themselves miserable. Perhaps they’re the ones who found something logical in
that “self-deportation” nonsense that Mitt Romney spewed four years ago during
his failed presidential bid.
But
now we’re going to have to see just how far Trump is willing to carry out the
trash talk of his campaign. There are those people who voted Republican because
they want to believe he didn’t mean anything he said literally.
... upon which Rahm and Trump clash? |
Yet the honest truth is that there also are those people who were most enthusiastic to vote for Trump because they WANT to believe him literally, particularly on the immigration issue.
IF
TRUMP’S FIRST presidential act isn’t the full repeal of the executive orders
issued by Barack Obama to offer comfort to young people who were brought by
their parents without full immigration status, they will revolt.
They
will want the punitive action by the federal government against urban areas in
general, and sanctuary cities like Chicago in particular.
For
what it’s worth, the mayor has said this week the city is not about to give up
its sanctuary city status – which was enacted before he became mayor and is
largely a symbolic policy. Chicago officials made it known they’re not looking
to bully non-citizens.
Not
that it means anyone in Chicago is immune from prosecution. For federal
immigration officials have agents in Chicago on the search for those who are
not supposed to be residing in this country. They can still investigate and
prosecute cases.
IT
JUST MEANS they have to do their own legwork, instead of being able to rely on the
Chicago Police Department for some free assistance.
OBAMA: How quickly will immigration views die? |
Considering
that immigration is an issue that lies beyond the Chicago Police jurisdiction,
it only makes sense they should butt out. Immigration officials are the ones
trained in the nuances of immigration law and understand it better than a beat
cop who pulled someone over for driving with a busted tail light.
We’ll
have to see just how this whole issue shakes down. I don’t doubt some are eager
to see urban areas punished for this issue – although the real reason is more a
matter of partisan politics rather than anything else. For the urban areas,
particularly places like Chicago, did NOT vote for Trump’s presidential
ambitions.
They
are the reason why Hillary Clinton will win the popular vote so overwhelmingly
(which is what all those polls were reflecting when they showed her likely to win the presidential election) despite losing the Electoral College, and I’m sure Trump is a vindictive-enough
individual to be willing to find a way to try to crack down on his political opponents.
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