There are approximately 1 million people illegally in the United States who have been ordered to leave by a judge. These illegal aliens have had due process, their day in court, and many have even lost on appeal. They have received more protections of their “rights” by having access to America’s judicial system than an illegal alien would receive in most other countries.
The Left constantly argues that illegal aliens are Americans who simply haven’t received the proper paperwork. But we expect Americans to obey the law, and particularly to conform to judicial orders. In fact, we impose fines, sanctions, and even jail time when people fail to follow court-issued orders. Americans even expect the president to comply with judicial orders. After all, they are orders and not requests.
Right now, we have 1 million individuals illegally in America who have been told by a judicial officer, “you must leave our country,” but they refuse to leave. That means that, not just by virtue of legal process or by entering or remaining in the country illegally, these people do not share American values. These illegal aliens are thumbing their nose at the underpinnings of America’s unique greatness: All of us are equal before the law.
Seeking special status for those illegally in the country, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants amnesty for millions of illegal aliens. Former President Barack Obama wanted to ignore the law by creating Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and ordering his enforcement arm to stand down. President Trump wants to enforce the law.
One of the architects of the infamous “catch and release” program is current acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan. There is speculation that McAleenan leaked to the media which cities Immigration and Customs Enforcement intended to target in an enforcement action against illegal aliens who violated the law and were ordered to leave. Congress must determine if McAleenan is undermining the president’s efforts to enforce the law and return America to the international standard of what the rule of law looks like.
The Democrats do not want to enforce the law. They want amnesty. They will oppose any enforcement of our immigration laws. They won’t provide additional help for ICE and Border Patrol. They won’t change the laws to tighten up our asylum provisions. They oppose building a border fence. Many of them want to abolish ICE. Some have compared our detention facilities to Nazi concentration camps. Yet, the “inhumanity” of enforcing our laws or detention in clean, air-conditioned facilities that provide three meals a day can be obviated if the illegal border crossers simply chose to remain in their native country.
That would require individual responsibility, something that the Left isn’t too keen on.
We must enforce the law by removing people who have had their opportunity to present their case to a judge and been ordered to leave based on our statutes. There are approximately 1 million of those folks.
But there is another group that have failed to even show up for their court date, or who are in the process of appealing an order of removal. There is about 1.5 million of those people.
If we are to be a nation of laws, we must enforce those laws. Part of the reason that Washington, D.C., is referred to as a “swamp” and has the disapprobation of the public is that our laws are treated as guidelines rather than laws.
If you want to fix the humanitarian and national security crisis on our border, we must enforce our laws evenly and fully. Just as we do for Americans and those legally in the country, we must do so for those who are illegally in the U.S.
Rep. Andy Biggs, a Republican, represents Arizona's 5th District in Congress. You can follow him on Twitter: @RepAndyBiggsAZ.
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