Freedom Line Blog

In this week’s Freedom Minute, CFIF’s Renee Giachino discusses the Constitutional crisis set up by President Obama’s unilateral action on immigration and the lasting damage to the separation of powers that will result if left unchecked by Congress.

In this week’s Freedom Minute, CFIF’s Renee Giachino discusses the administration’s move to trump the will of the American people and Congress through de facto imposition of the so-called DREAM Act by executive fiat.

A hat tip to Michelle Malkin’s indispensable web site for this jaw-dropping report. It turns out that the Obama administration is encouraging the national immigration service to exercise “prosecutorial discretion” in order NOT to deport illegal aliens if, among other reasons, they are involved in a fight for union privileges.

To avoid deterring individuals from reporting crimes and from pursuing actions to protect their civil rights, ICE officers, special agents, and attorneys are reminded to exercise all appropriate discretion on a case-by-case basis when making detention and enforcement decisions in the case of victims of crime, witnesses to crime, and individuals pursuing legitimate civil rights complaints. Particular attention should be paid to:…. individuals engaging in a protected activity related to civil or other rights (for example, union organizing or complaining to authorities about employment discrimination or housing conditions)….

Holy Union Thuggery, Batman!!!  Since when is “union organizing” a “right” for somebody who isn’t even a citizen or legal resident of the United States?!?  Break our laws by violating our borders, stay here illegally, and start agitating for union representation against your employer, and suddenly you are untouchable! You’re now a protected class of lawbreaker. Nice deal, eh? What’s next — forgiveness in American courts for all breaking-and-entering offenses as long as the violator is in favor of card check?

Words fail. This administration now is managing to combine two of its pernicious initiatives, amnesty and feathering the nests of union bosses, in one fell swoop. Unionizing is now equated with a civil right; lawlessness is now a “discretionary” concept. This should be all over the front pages of all the big papers; it should lead the nightly newscasts; it should be the subject of congressional hearings — and it should get people fired, because it is an abomination.

In this week’s Freedom Minute, CFIF’s Renee Giachino discusses the shooting of Arizona cattle rancher Rob Krentz by an illegal alien and how politicians in Washington seem more obsessed with granting amnesty than providing security on our nation’s borders.

During his nationally televised address on health care to a joint session of Congress in September, President Obama stated:

There are also those who claim that our [health care] reform effort will insure illegal immigrants.  This, too, is false — the reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.”

Well, either the President wasn’t being totally honest when he made that statement or Nancy Pelosi wasn’t paying attention or just flat out ignored it.  H.R. 3962, the 2,000-plus-page (and growing), $1.3 trillion (and growing) “reform” proposal that the House will be voting on tomorrow – and for which President Obama has pledged his support – in fact does enable illegal immigrants to receive health care.

According to a November 2, 2009 Congressional Research Service report, “The House bill contains no express restrictions on noncitizens – whether legally or illegally present, or in the United States temporarily or permanently – accessing and paying for coverage available through the health insurance exchange.”

Just a few days earlier, the Congressional Budget Office (“CBO”) noted in its preliminary cost estimate of H.R. 3962 that in 2019 there would be “about 18 million nonelderly residents uninsured (nearly one third of whom would be unauthorized immigrants).”  In other words, CBO projects that six million illegals – nearly half of all illegal immigrants currently living in the United States, according to official government estimates – would be provided health care under the legislation by 2019.

Repeated attempts to amend the underlying legislation upon which H.R. 3962 was drafted to provide for adequate verification of U.S. citizenship and to explicitly exclude illegal immigrants from receiving health benefits under the bill have all failed. 

Rep. Tom Price, Chairman of the Republican Study Committee, has a more thorough analysis of the issue here.