How to make America a dumping ground no more for criminal aliens

President Trump was right to suggest during the campaign that America has become “a dumping ground” for criminals of other countries.

Rather than the White House and Paul Ryan frantically focusing on granting amnesty to illegals, what about convening an emergency commission, in the mold of the famous Jordan Commission, for how to deal with criminal aliens once and for all? Call it DACA – Deferred Action from Criminal Aliens. America’s DACA.

There are real-life consequences to cities refusing to cooperate with immigration authorities and the courts cheering them on.

A recent murder in San Francisco, suspected to be at the hands of a pair of illegal aliens released by sanctuary policies, illustrates that immigration enforcement, not amnesty, is the priority. And in another incident officially classified as rape by local law enforcement in Fredrick, Md., should demonstrate the need to detain and deport illegal aliens the minute they commit even minor crimes, lest they abscond, disappear, and commit more dangerous crimes.

San Francisco’s sanctuary policies prove deadly once again

In a case reminiscent of the Kate Steinle murder, two illegal aliens have been charged in connection of a murder on Aug. 15, with a gun stolen from a San Francisco cop's car. The sad reality is that these suspects, like so many criminal aliens, were already apprehended by local police several months earlier for lesser crimes but were released in defiance of an ICE request to detain them for 48 hours so they can be deported.

Jesus Perez-Araujo, 24, was originally arrested in May by San Francisco authorities for possession of marijuana and brass knuckles. Erick Garcia-Pineda, 18, was arrested on suspicion of carrying out the murder of 23-year-old Abel Enrique Esquivel, Jr. Perez-Araujo was in the country on a bogus asylum claim and never showed up for his August deportation hearing.

The practice of releasing illegals from detention pending their trials is de facto amnesty because they are the consummate flight risk. For example, in 2014-2015 we know that 84 percent of family units from Central America absconded from their immigration hearing and disappeared into the population. Among young illegal aliens who have crossed over in recent years, 90  percent failed to show up for their hearings, according to data from the House Judiciary Committee.

Thus, sanctuary cities and sanctuary courts are rendering all enforcement moot … with deadly consequences. 

A Fredrick rape at the hands of “Dreamers”

No, not all young illegal aliens are aspiring Einsteins or serving in the military. There are tremendous problems with violence and gangs, especially among the Central American youth entering our country every day thanks to the immoral promises of amnesty, asylum, and judicial, legislative, and executive amnesty.

Fredrick, Md.. was once a beautiful quiet town spared from the broader problems of blue-state governance. Yet it is now overrun by illegal aliens and gang activity. Edgar Chicas-Hernandez, 17, and Victor Gonzalez Gutierres, 19, have been charged with kidnapping and raping a classmate in Fredrick. What was his story? An all too familiar tale.

According to Fox 5 DC,  Gutierres was arrested in April for resisting arrest after a high-speed car chase. He was released by an immigration judge. Fredrick County Sheriff Charles Jenkins asks the salient questions.

“You ask yourself how and why,” he said. “The reason why is the system is broken. Not only the immigration system, but the enforcement in the backside where people have to wait so long for court dates and immigration court. Bonds are set and the courts know that these people will not appear in immigration court to face deportation.”

“I think the solution is more immigration judges, speedier court dates, more effective, more expeditious court dates, court appearances, and for these people not to be released but to be kept in jail until they appear in court and are removed from the country,” Sheriff Jenkins added. 

As for the solutions, the good sheriff is right in part, but we need to address something more fundamental with the way we treat illegal entrants and the meddling of Article III courts.

Ending the dumping-ground problem

Every proposal to focus on amnesty and lip service to border security or enforcement misses to key ingredient to stolen sovereignty, which has made America a dumping ground.

Illegal aliens essentially have the ability to cross the border, surrender themselves to border agents, assert a credible fear, get released at any number of stages through the lengthy court process, and get protected from enforcement by sanctuary cities or sanctuary courts. This is a chronic issue that is completely unaddressed and ignored.

The recidivism is enormous. A 2014 analysis from ICE of sanctuary cities found that 8,145 individuals were released during a nine-month period and 1,867 were subsequently re-arrested a total of 4,298 times on nearly 7,500 criminal charges.

The following issues must be addressed before any amnesty is debated:

Fix asylum loophole

Many of the cases in immigration courts are the result of smugglers exploiting our asylum policies. Congress and the State Department mustenforce international law requiring asylum seekers to apply for asylum in the first safe country they encounter in their journey.

Congress must also better define the statutory language of persecuted “social group” so that it remains in line with the traditional impetus for our asylum laws: to protect religious and ethnic minorities. In the meantime, Congress should immediately suspend the asylum program until we get this law working for the American people again.

Mandate detention of all illegals pending deportation hearing

According to recent data from Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), nearly six in 10 illegal aliens during the first 10 months of FY 2016 were set free by immigration judges. It’s long past time Congress pass the Davis-Oliver interior enforcement bill.

Among other provisions, Section 310 forces immigration judges to detain criminal aliens. The Davis-Oliver bill also punishes sanctuary cities and strengthens current law deputizing states to help with immigration enforcement.

Expand expedited deportation

At present, ICE oversees 2.3 million illegal aliens who were released from detention, over 368,500 of whom had prior criminal convictions but were allowed to remain in the country.

Nearly 1 million have already received final deportation orders, yet only a small percentage is deported in a given year because of sanctuary cities, sanctuary courts, and a lack of resources. This must change. We should at least deport those ICE is aware of, many of them criminal elements.

Under current law and practice, expedited deportations are rarely utilized and are never used for those in the country for more than two years.

Strip the courts of jurisdiction

The courts are now blocking deportations, mandating release of criminal aliens, invalidating 48-hour detainers, and preventing both states and the federal government from punishing sanctuary cities. The lower courts must be denied any jurisdiction to adjudicate these cases to amend the problem. 

Stop the Central American invasion

In reality, Central American teens, for the most part, should not qualify for special treatment. Congress should clarify the Wilberforce trafficking law to ensure it only includes those severely trafficked against their will.

To that end, Trump should call upon Congress to immediately pass H.R. 495, which would take away any ambiguity in law and ensure that every illegal alien minor who is not trafficked is expeditiously reunited with his/her illegal parents and repatriated to their home country.

Allow states to opt out of enrolling illegal aliens in schools

Finally, in addition to the many other border security and visa tracking requirements we must implement before discussing any amnesty, it’s important to remember the utility of the border wall. One of the many reasons we need a border wall is because it is so hard to deport anyone thanks to the courts. Here is what I wrote earlier this year in favor of a border wall:

"Even the ones we wind up deporting come at a big cost. They almost always surrender themselves to the border patrol, many of the children are let out of ICE custody, and even many families are now being released by the courts. The cost of the detention centers, the crushing burden on the courts, the education and health care for the Central American children, and the logistics of deportation all cost money.

"There is no better cost effective enforcement mechanism than a fixed impenetrable deterrent that prevents illegals from stepping foot on our soil in the first place. Not to mention the fact that it solves the political and legal arguments about deportation that invariably come into play the minute they enter our country."

Paul Ryan has formed a committee on “DACA.” The Trump White House has made amnesty a priority. Sens. Thom Tillis and James Lankford have introduced what they call “the conservative” version of DACA. They all have their ethics backward. We need a DACA for America. Let’s deal with the aforementioned issues first.

Where is the emergency to answer the needs of Sheriff Jenkins before the needs of illegal aliens? The conservative version of DACA is to focus on the needs and security of the American people that has deteriorated over the years as a result of these very promises of amnesty.

If a national government can protect Americans from dangerous foreign invaders, what is the purpose of even having one?