Durbin Betrays Us

When Solomon was faced with two mothers claiming the same baby he offered to cut the child in two and offer each one half. The real mother relinquished her claim, rather than see her baby die. But Solomon, in his wisdom, gave the child to her.

After having taken sanctuary in a Chicago church for a year, now we have the recent arrest in LA of Elvira Arrelano, and her separation from her son. Faced with her situation, who can tell how they would react---does she love her child, a US citizen, more by leaving him in the US to be raised by friends, or would it be better for him to stay with her in Mexico?

We aren't blessed with the wisdom of Solomon, but sentiment did not rule the day then, nor should it now. And in fact, there has been a backlash among some other illegal immigrants at her behavior, as commented on by a Spanish language Chicago talk radio host:

Salas questioned why it appeared that mainstream media make Arellano out to be the face of undocumented immigrants, while her actions have exacerbated the animosity toward them. "She wasn't down to earth," he said, adding that Arellano acted entitled to rights "when there's thousands and thousands of people in the same situation." "She made everything worse," Salas said. "She's not a face of the immigrants. My family without papers, she doesn't represent them."

And you see, she was originally scheduled to be deported 10 years ago. Her son is 8. Also this from the Trib story:

Much of the anger from across the political spectrum surrounding illegal immigration has been crystallized by Arellano's story. After entering the country illegally twice, she became an activist shortly after she was arrested in 2002 during a federal sweep at O'Hare International Airport, where Arellano cleaned airplanes. She was later convicted of using a fake Social Security card.

So. Working at O'Hare illegally after Sept. 11th. And identity theft. Not the best example to build sympathy. We all have to show our documents and photo ID to get on a plane at O'Hare, and submit to a scan or a search.

And identity theft is not a victimless crime.

Nor is the practice of sanctuary cities, which give criminals a pass to prey on their neighbors. This has been going on for years and years, as evidenced in the Ft. Dix jihadist story--3 brothers here illegally for 23 years. They came from the former Yugoslavia---via Brownsville, Texas. They'd had run-ins with the law before, but the local law was under orders from their local pols not to enforce the law. Selectively. Homeland Security had no idea. That plot was averted by a lucky tip from a convenience store clerk.

After Ft. Dix the Senate had a chance to close the loophole for sanctuary cities, under an amendment introduced by Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN):

May 23rd, 2007 - Washington, D.C. - In an effort to strengthen national security, Senator Norm Coleman yesterday introduced an amendment to the Immigration bill to make sure local law enforcement officials are able to communicate with federal law enforcement agencies regarding suspected immigration violations. Currently, a number of cities throughout the nation are using a loophole to get around Sec. 642 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996 by instituting ordinances forbidding local law enforcement to even ask the question as to whether a person is in the U.S. lawfully, thereby evading their legal responsibility to report their suspicions to the federal government.

“In a post 9-11 world, it is simply unacceptable for communities to ignore federal laws requiring them to share this type of information with federal authorities. This is not a matter of making state and local governments enforce federal immigration laws, it is simply a matter of closing this loophole that certain cities have created,” said Coleman. “This defies common sense, as the rule of law must apply to both legal and illegal residents. Moreover, we know how crucial it is to connect the dots in order to avert another terrorist attack in this country. The consequences of prohibiting information sharing are too great. To close this loophole, I have introduced an amendment that will ensure the lines of communication are open between local and federal law enforcement officials.”

Senator Coleman’s legislation will not require local law enforcement to use their own resources to enforce federal immigration laws. Moreover, it does not require local law enforcement to conduct immigration raids or act as federal agents. Senator Coleman’s bill will simply give law enforcement officers the ability to inquire about a person’s immigration status during their routine investigations, and in turn report their findings to the appropriate Federal authorities though already-established channels, as they are currently required to do by law.

The NY Times (link is the IHT version of the story):

"Several cities have passed ordinances or issued executive orders forbidding local law enforcement to even ask the question as to whether a person is in the United States lawfully," Mr. Coleman said.

In adopting such "gag orders," Mr. Coleman said, cities prevent their employees from finding and arresting illegal immigrants who may go on to commit violent crimes.

Two weeks after the Ft. Dix plot, Sen. Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, voted no on Coleman's common sense measure. The measure failed by one vote. Every vote counts Sen. Durbin. We can't count on you.

Now this month another shocking story, this time of group killings. One of the suspects, here illegally, was released on bail after a child rape because authorities never checked his immigration status, then participated in the murder of three college freshmen, and attempted to murder a fourth. In a schoolyard. Execution-style.

How do those mothers feel, that their sons and daughter were killed in cold blood? No Solomonic solution for them. No choice, no chance.

How can we take Sen. Durbin and Democrats seriously when they talk of Homeland Security? They take no measures to ensure our security---not against crime nor against terror. And now we begin to have both together.

Legal immigration, yes, but Sen. Durbin has no respect for the integrity of our homeland--not its borders, nor the even-handed rule of law.

Senator Durbin betrays us.