Law and order is finally being restored – and it has the left in an uproar!
Over the weekend, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers began rounding up criminal illegal immigrants in large numbers around the country as part of stepped-up enforcement under President Donald Trump.
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Trump stood by the successful enforcement of immigration laws on Twitter —
The crackdown on illegal criminals is merely the keeping of my campaign promise. Gang members, drug dealers & others are being removed!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 12, 2017
The government says it’s simply enforcing the laws and conducting routine enforcement targeting immigrants in the country illegally with criminal records — but that hasn’t stopped liberals from speaking out.
The move is hardly surprising, however. As a candidate, Trump vowed to take a hard line on immigration. Five days after taking office, he signed a sweeping executive order that made clear that just about any immigrant living in the country illegally could be a priority for deportation, particularly those with outstanding deportation orders. The president’s order also said enforcement priorities would include convicted criminals, immigrants who had been arrested for any criminal offense, those who committed fraud, and anyone who may have committed a crime.
While the left is criticizing Trump for the deportations, they are ignoring that former President Barack Obama took somewhat similar actions.
Under Obama, the government focused on immigrants in the country illegally who posed a threat to national security or public safety and recent border crossers.
David Marin, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s field office director for enforcement and removal operations in greater Los Angeles, said the agency carries out these operations two or three times a year in his region. He says the California operation was in the planning stages “before the administration came out with their current executive orders.”
In all, Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested about 160 people during a five-day sweep in Southern California aimed at immigrants with criminal histories and deportation orders, including a Salvadoran gang member wanted in his country and a Brazilian drug trafficker. Marin acknowledged that five of those arrested would not have met the Obama administration’s enforcement priorities.
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The agency called it an “enforcement surge” that was no different than enforcement actions carried out in the past and said a “rash of recent reports about purported ICE checkpoints and random sweeps are false, dangerous, and irresponsible.” In a statement, the agency said “officers frequently encounter additional suspects who may be in the United States in violation of the federal immigration laws. Those persons will be evaluated on a case by case basis and, when appropriate, arrested by ICE.”
Despite the claims that this is business as usual, an indication of the changed tactics came earlier in the week when Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly testified before Congress. He told lawmakers immigration agents expressed frustration about that they were not fully allowed to enforce immigration laws under the Obama administration. He predicted Trump’s directives would end that frustration.
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“I think their morale has suffered because of the job they were hired to do, and then in their sense, they’re … kind of hobbled or, you know, hands tied behind their back, that kind of thing,” Kelly told the House Homeland Security Committee. “And now, they feel more positive about things. I bet if you watch the morale issue, you’ll … be surprised going forward.”
Acting ICE Director Thomas Homan, who was previously in charge of the agency’s enforcement and removal operations, earlier this month made a point of noting that his agents would enforce the law.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.