I’ll admit it. It’s summer and I’m cranky. But, come on people. Not another outbreak of hypocrisy on immigration!
We’ve watched while agency officials pulled apart the law to find ways to make illegal the status of people here legally or struggling to attain legal status. Making Muslim men register, and declaring them illegal if they don’t hear about the requirement or make a mis-step in meeting the requirement. Bringing down the full force of law enforcement for not filing a change of address form. Declaring out of status, and thus subject to deportation, people whose statuses expired only because of the government’s backlog in processing their extension or change of status applications (a backlog created in large part by the diversion of resources to administer that Muslim registration program). You get the picture.
None of this went before Congress. It was all done by employees of the prior Administration. They scoured the law, and found ways in it to further break down the legal immigration system.
Along come some officials who decide to look at the law and think about ways to remove artificial administrative barriers to legality. You’d think from the howl that they’ve overthrown the government. Certainly not that they started an internal discussion about how to administer the law in a way that prefers legality over illegality.
Like the proposals in the leaked internal memo on administrative alternatives. Criticize the proposals. Like some and criticize some. But don’t play the politics of outrage against an honest effort to make the system work. Come on now!
