Immigration

Judge to Crazy Uncle Joe Arpaio: No deal

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Babeu-ArpaioKudos to the Arizona Civil Liberties Union for objecting to the half-ass settlement offer from Crazy Uncle Joe Arpaio and his lawyers that would have let him avoid prosecution, and saddle the taxpayers of Maricopa County — the damn fools who keep reelecting him — with the cost of the settlement agreement, once again. Crazy Uncle Joe Arpaio has already cost county taxpayers multi-millions of dollars in settlements for his unlawful conduct. When will Maricopans finally say “enough!”

And kudos to U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow for not rolling over like other judges have done in the past by accepting this half-ass settlement offer. Judge Snow told Crazy Uncle Joe Arpaio and his lawyers, “No deal” — see you boys in court at the hearing set for April 21-24. Justice may finally be coming for “America’s most corrupt sheriff.”

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The GOP reaffirms it is ‘the party of maximum deportations’

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It seems like a lifetime ago when the 2012 post-election GOP Autopsy report declared:

We are not a policy committee, but among the steps Republicans take in the Hispanic community and beyond, we must embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform. If we do not, our Party’s appeal will continue to shrink to its core constituencies only. We also believe that comprehensive immigration reform is consistent with Republican economic policies that promote job growth and opportunity for all.

Image: Latinos protest in favor of comprehensive immigration reform while on West side of Capitol Hill in WashingtonThe U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill in July 2013. It then died in the TanMan’s House, where he allowed the nativist and racist Deportation Republicans, led by Reps. Steve King (R-IA) and Michele Bachman (R-MN), to hijack the legislative process with their own “no compromise” Border Security bill in August 2014.

Tea-Publicans no longer make any pretense of supporting immigration reform. Deportation Republicans are fully in control of the party as Tea-Publicans devolve into the modern-day reincarnation of the nativist Know-Nothing party of the 19th Century.

Think Progress reports, The House’s Newest Immigration Plan Is Mass Deportation:

The House Judiciary Committee is taking up a bill this week that would make felons out of the vast majority of undocumented immigrants overnight.

The bill would repeal the president’s November 20 immigration directives, which would give 5 million parents and DREAMers temporary legal protection and work authorization; make illegal presence a crime rather than a civil offense; and overturn the Supreme Court’s decision in Arizona v. United States, which rightfully struck down much of S.B.1070, Arizona’s law that put state and local enforcement of immigration on steroids. Taken together, all the bill’s provisions amount to a strategy for comprehensive mass deportation.

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The GOP plots the next round of hostage takings and ransom demands

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Greg Sargent noted in his column on Friday, Chaos in Congress is about to get a lot crazier:

The quote of the week, one that will likely reverberate through the halls of Congress for many months to come, is this one from GOP Rep. Charlie Dent, lamenting the inability of the House GOP caucus to unite behind, well, anything at all:

“We really don’t have 218 votes to determine a bathroom break over here on our side. So how are we going to get 218 votes on transportation, or trade, or whatever the issue?”

If you thought that the GOP clusterfuck over the Department of Homeland Security funding fiasco was fun, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

The GOP is plotting the next round of hostage takings and is sending more ransom demands to the White House. This week, McConnell will delay Lynch unless Dems cooperate on trafficking bill:

hostageSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Sunday said Loretta Lynch, President Obama’s nominee to succeed Eric Holder as attorney general, will not move until Democrats cooperate surrender on a human trafficking bill.

Democrats have threatened to [filibuster] the bipartisan trafficking measure because Republicans included a provision that would prohibit restitution funds from paying for abortions.

McConnell told Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Lynch’s nomination will remain in a holding pattern until Democrats allow the trafficking bill to move forward.

“This will have an impact on the timing of considering the new attorney general. Now, I had hoped to turn to her next week, but if we can’t finish the trafficking bill, she will be put off again,” he said.

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Obama Administration appeals stay of immigration orders to 5th Circuit Court of Appeals

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Prior to President Obama issuing his executive orders to expand the deferral of immigration proceedings to a broader class of undocumented immigrants, I posted this piece by Greg Sargent of the Washington Post, Lawyers agree: Obama has broad authority to act on deportations:

Image: Latinos protest in favor of comprehensive immigration reform while on West side of Capitol Hill in WashingtonWith Obama administration officials debating how aggressively to use unilateral action to shield people from deportations, more than 100 immigration law professors have signed a letter to the President (.pdf) arguing that he has expansive legal authority to act to temporarily protect additional groups from removal — and that this authority is rooted in statute, court opinion, regulations, and precedent.

The letter (.pdf), which was shared with this blog before its release, is designed to make the case to media and opinion-makers that Obama has maximum legal room to maneuver — which could shape how much political space the administration thinks it has on this difficult and explosive decision.

The letter — which was distributed by the American Immigration Council and the National Immigration Law Center — was signed by over 130 professors, attorneys and experts, some from the major Ivy League law schools, and others from border and red states that are relevant to the politics of this decision.

Since President Obama issued his executive orders on immigration, a hand-picked Republican judge in South Texas with a reputation for being highly critical of the administration’s immigration policies issued a ruling staying implementation of those executive orders. (This is known as venue shopping, and it is unethical). The court has not ruled on the substantive issues in the case, despite the rhetoric being used by Tea-Publicans in the media.

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Epic Boehner Fail: House vote fails to fund DHS, shutdown looms

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How many times do I have to tell you that the TanMan, Weeper of the House John Boehner, is the “Worst. Speaker. Ever.” Americans should be able to remove this incompetent fool from his position.

The Hill reports on the TanMan’s latest epic failure. Chaos in House as lawmakers reject DHS bill; shutdown nears:

Screenshot-6A short-term funding measure to keep the Department of Homeland Security open (DHS) was defeated on Friday in a stunning vote that could result in a partial government shutdown at midnight.

The bill failed 203-224, with 51 Republicans voting against legislation that was set to fund the DHS and its associated agencies through March 19. Twelve Democrats voted for it.

The vote is a shocking defeat for Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his leadership team, who had scrambled to bring the three-week funding bill to the floor ahead of the looming deadline.

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