Janet Napolitano, our illustrious Homeland Security Chief, spouted this little gem during a Larry King interview while explaining why Democrats want to investigate Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Maricopa County Arizona, for enforcing the law:
Well, you know, Sheriff Joe, he is being very political in that statement, because he knows that there aren’t enough law enforcement officers, courtrooms or jail cells in the world to do what he is saying.
What we have to do is target the real evil-doers in this business, the employers who consistently hire illegal labor, the human traffickers who are exploiting human misery.
And yes, when we find illegal workers, yes, appropriate action, some of which is criminal, most of that is civil, because crossing the border is not a crime per se. It is civil. But anyway, going after those as well.
Link to full transcript: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0904/19/sotu.01.html
Scuze me, Ms. Homeland Security, but Federal Law doesn’t seem to be your forte:
CITE (U.S. Code, Title 8 Section 1325)
8 USC Sec. 1325 01/03/2007
EXPCITE
TITLE 8 – ALIENS AND NATIONALITY
CHAPTER 12 – IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY
SUBCHAPTER II – IMMIGRATION
Part VIII – General Penalty ProvisionsHEAD
Sec. 1325. Improper entry by alien
STATUTE
(a) Improper time or place; avoidance of examination or inspection;
misrepresentation and concealment of facts
Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States
at any time or place other than as designated by immigration
officers, or (2) eludes examination or inspection by immigration
officers, or (3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United
States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the
willful concealment of a material fact, shall, for the first
commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18 or
imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both, and, for a subsequent
commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18, or
imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.
(b) Improper time or place; civil penalties
Any alien who is apprehended while entering (or attempting to
enter) the United States at a time or place other than as
designated by immigration officers shall be subject to a civil
penalty of –
(1) at least $50 and not more than $250 for each such entry (or
attempted entry); or
(2) twice the amount specified in paragraph (1) in the case of
an alien who has been previously subject to a civil penalty under
this subsection.
Civil penalties under this subsection are in addition to, and not
in lieu of, any criminal or other civil penalties that may be
imposed.
(c) Marriage fraud
Any individual who knowingly enters into a marriage for the
purpose of evading any provision of the immigration laws shall be
imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or fined not more than
$250,000, or both.
(d) Immigration-related entrepreneurship fraud
Any individual who knowingly establishes a commercial enterprise
for the purpose of evading any provision of the immigration laws
shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years, fined in accordance
with title 18, or both.
http://trac.syr.edu/laws/08/08USC01325.html
There’s now a Fire Napolitano website: http://firenapolitano.com/
It’s real comforting to know that the person in charge of our Homeland Security Department doesn’t even know when our security has been breached…..except if you’re an Iraq War/Army veteran, outspoken Obama critic, anti-illegal alien, gun owner like me. Then, she considers you a “rightwing threat”:
(http://sfcmac.wordpress.com/2009/04/15/enemies-of-obamas-state/)
And the gaffes just keep on comin’.
Canada took offense to Napolitano’s remarks that the 9-11 terrorists entered the U.S. through Canada:
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano made the comments during a media interview earlier this week, much to the chagrin of Canadians on both sides of the border.
In recent years, Ottawa has invested a great deal of effort into dispelling perceptions among Americans that Canada’s border is an easy entry point for terrorists planning attacks on U.S. soil.
……The furor began when Napolitano was asked to clarify statements she had made about equal treatment for the Mexican and Canadian borders, despite the fact that a flood of illegal immigrants and a massive drug war are two serious issues on the southern border.
“Yes, Canada is not Mexico, it doesn’t have a drug war going on, it didn’t have 6,000 homicides that were drug-related last year,” she said.
“Nonetheless, to the extent that terrorists have come into our country or suspected or known terrorists have entered our country across a border, it’s been across the Canadian border. There are real issues there.”
When asked if she was referring to the 9-11 terrorists, Napolitano added: “Not just those but others as well.”
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090421/USA_Border_090421/20090421?hub=TopStories
Canada has certainly had its fair share of problems with terrorists:
Ahmed Rassam the “Millennium bomber”, for one. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20010314/ctvnews85564/CTVNewsAt11
But, the 9-11 story is patently false.
……This lingering headache for Canada underlines the enduring life of inaccuracies in the media and the sensitivity of Canadians to suggestions that their country’s long and lightly guarded border is a threat to the United States.
……In the weeks after the attacks, investigators established that all of the hijackers entered the United States from countries other than Canada, a finding that got the official stamp last summer with the release of the Sept. 11 commission report. But that has not stopped the story from spreading.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38816-2005Apr8.html
Of course, the solution to the problem would be for us to beef up border security on our side, and scrutinize everyone entering the United States, but unfortunately, our Northern border is about as ‘secure’ as our Southern border.
Since Janet thinks “crossing the border is not a crime per se”, illegals and terrorists alike will continue to traipse right across.