Obama Usurps Congressional Authority

According to a report out of Washington the Obama administration has usurped congressional prerogatives to end the application of electronic and aerial surveillance on the southern border. Regardless of the merits, successes or failures of this approach to border security, it was ordered by congress in 2006 and therefore should be ended only with the approval of congress. We can't have the president willy-nilly diverting funds from their intended purpose without consulting the congress. Is this some more of the highhandedness of which Obama has been justly accused in violation of the constitution?

This high tech effort is reputed to have cost taxpayers one billion dollars. Perhaps El Presidente should now turn his attention to some his initiatives with must higher multi-billiion dollar price tags like Obamacare, TARP, agricultural subsidies,and the national debt.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano promises much but delivers nothing. The one foolproof border security measure that she never mentions is deportation reform that would enable illegal aliens to be quickly identified, detained, and deported without recourse. This is a proven technique to send the message that if you come here illegally, we will catch you and deport you immediately and involuntarily even if you agree to self-deport. Moreover, you and your employer will be charged for all of the expenses involved. This, therefore, can be done without any incremental cost to the taxpayers.

Where is the quid pro quo? They cancel the high tech approach but offer nothing specific in place of it. Where is the mandatory implementation of E-verify across the board for all employers public and private, and all employees, current and potential new hires? This is a proven way to idnetify not only illegal aliens but the employers who hire them. A very high percentage of immigration decisions must be very simple and straightforward such that a large number of well-trained immigration Justices of the Peace (JOPs) could take over most of the cases and free the immigration courts for the most difficult political asylum cases. This arrangement would be facilitated by a rigid set of guidelines for use by the JOPs to quickly decide every case within 24 hours with only a week for appeal.

Inspite of Napo's claims to the contrary the above is a "one-size-fits-all" solution to the country's border security needs. That solution is simply a matter of removing the incentives for border violations by foreclosing the opportunities for employment of illegal aliens and dispensing quick and sure justice to those are here without proper authorization. It's time to take the gloves off and send the illegals home under new rules that permit expedited removal with few if any exceptions. Family separation and "anchor babies" should be specifically excluded as exceptions. Those who do not wish to be separated need only leave this country together.

Last but not least of the incentives for border violations that must be removed is birthright citizenship or Jus Soli as it is sometimes referred to. In the U.S., one of the strongest incentives for border violations is the 14th amendment which grants citizenship to anyone who is born in this country. “It is difficult to imagine a more irrational and self-defeating legal system than one which makes unauthorized entry into this country a criminal offense and simultaneously provides perhaps the greatest possible inducement to illegal entry [birthright citizenship].” Originally, the amendment was designed to give full citizenship status to former slaves and their offspring. The authors of the 14th Amendment never would have imagined their words bestowing citizenship on the offspring of illegal aliens, tourists, foreign students, visa overstays, and temporary farm workers.