Obama grants amnesty for illegal alien children - another palabas?

by Atty. Emmanuel Samonte Tipon 

"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." -  Abraham Lincoln

“The occasion for calling in question either God's sincerity, or his wisdom, or power . . . is the indiscriminate offer of salvation.” R.L. Dabney 

“This is not amnesty,” President Obama said defensively while announcing a new policy on June 15 to permit illegal alien children to request temporary relief from deportation proceedings and apply for work authorization. Obama lost his cool castigating a reporter who tried to ask questions accusing the reporter of interrupting the President. Obama can call it what he wants, but as the saying goes “if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck.

“Amnesty” is "a pardon extended by the government to a group or class of persons, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of persons who are subject to trial but have not yet been convicted" It includes more than pardon, inasmuch as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the offense. The word has the same root as amnesia.” Wikipedia. 

“Palabas” in Tagalog means “show,” and in the Philippines it is used against politicians who try to score points among the people by pandering to them. “Pandering” is the “act of expressing one's views in accordance with the likes of a group to which one is attempting to appeal. The term is most notably associated with politics. Pandering is essentially a reaction of panic in elected officials who must either tailor their views to public opinion or risk losing their existing or potential seat.” By pandering, a politician attempts to tilt the results in his or her favor.”  Wikipedia.

JUSTIFICATION

Obama’s justification is that “it makes no sense to expel talented young people who, for all intents and purposes, are Americans.” Butthe law calls for the children’s expulsion because they and whoever brought them here (not necessarily their parents) broke the law, and the law must be enforced.

Dura lex est lex (the law is hard but that is the law). Hundreds of children have been deported for being here illegally. The immigration sins of the parents are imputed to the children. See Senica v. INS, 16 F.3d 1013, 1016 (9th Cir. 1994).

Obama probably feels he is losing the election on the issue of jobs and must resort to squid tactics to divert the voters’ minds. He also needs Latino voters in swing states like Nevada, Colorado, Virginia, and Florida, who perceive him as the deporter-in-chief for having deported over a million aliens in 3 1/2 years. This may boomerang as Latinos do not want more competition for jobs, and law-abiding citizens, especially those who came to America legally, are outraged.

CRITICISM

Critics of Obama say that: 

1. Congress makes the laws, not the President. Congress has rejected the Dream Act which gives the same benefits to children of illegal aliens as Obama’s amnesty. “The President’s action is an affront to the process of representative government by circumventing Congress and with a directive he may not have the authority to execute,’ said Senator Charles E. Grassley, Iowa.  Representative Steve King, Iowa, said he would bring a lawsuit against the White House to stop the measure.” NY Times 06/15/12. 
2. the President should be faithful to his oath and enforce all the laws.
3.  there will be more competition for limited jobs, school placement, medical care, etc. as more than one million formerly illegal aliens become legal;  
4. no one will do the jobs that Americans don’t want to do, like picking up lettuce, since illegals will become legals and can pick any job they want.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney chided Obama saying the timing of the announcement is clearly political, since Obama was president for the last 3 1/2 years and did nothing on immigration.  Obama took 3 1/2 years to “evolve” on immigration, like he did on gay marriage. 

REQUIREMENTS FOR PROSECUTORIAL DISCRETION

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano directed her subalterns to exercise “prosecutorial discretion” in the enforcement of the immigration laws by granting “deferred action” against children who--

1. Came to the United States under the age of sixteen; 
2. Have continuously resided in the United States for at least five years preceding the date of this memorandum and are present in the United States on the date of this memorandum; 
3. Are currently in school, have graduated from high school, have obtained a general education development certificate, or are honorably discharged veterans of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States; 
4. Have not been convicted of a felony offense, a significant misdemeanor offense, multiple misdemeanor offenses, or otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety; 
5. Are not above the age of thirty.

POSTER BOY FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS

Coincidentally, this week’s Time magazine’s cover is Jose Antonio Vargas, the Filipino gay “illegal” alien (he should not be called “undocumented” because he had plenty of documents obtained illegally) who wrote an article in the New York Times on June 22, 2011 “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant”. Time’s cover was captioned: “We are Americans*Just not legally.”  Time has placed an illegal alien in the company of leaders and notables like Corazon Aquino, Pacquiao, Presidents of the United States, scientists, etc. But then, Time also had Hitler and Stalin on its cover. Strangely the Obama administration has not touched Vargas, while deporting young children brought by their parents illegally, thus denying these children the equal protection of the laws.

TEST SINCERITY OF OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

“Sincerity is susceptible of proof.”  Children beneficiaries should file their requests for amnesty now. See what happens. They have 6 months. If Obama loses bye bye amnesty.

We saved from deportation eight children who were charged with having been brought by their parents to the United States illegally. We asked for a waiver.  (I am a writing a book on waivers).  Who needs amnesty?  Just get an excellent lawyer.

(Atty. Tipon has a Master of Laws degree from Yale Law School and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines. He specializes in immigration law and criminal defense. Office: 800 Bethel St., Suite 402, Honolulu, HI 96813. Tel. (808) 225-2645. E-Mail: filamlaw@yahoo.com. Websites: MilitaryandCriminalLaw.com; www.ImmigrationServicesUSA.com. He is from Laoag City and Magsingal, Ilocos Sur. He served as an Immigration Officer. He is co-author of “Immigration Law Service, 1st ed.,” an 8-volume practice guide for immigration officers and lawyers. Listen to the most funny, interesting, and useful radio program in Hawaii on KNDI at 1270, AM dial every Thursday at 7:30 a.m., rebroadcast at www.iluko.com. This article is a general overview of the subject matter discussed and is not intended as legal advice. No warranty is made by the writer or publisher as to its completeness or correctness at the time of publication.)