Nancy Pelosi: No One Should Be Deported Just Because They're In the Country Illegally

Mark Krikorian says she hereby pronounces the end of immigration law altogether.

Her statement means that she -- and the Democrats, as she is their ranking House member -- believes that no one should be deported "just" for breaking immigration laws. Deportation can only happen, in Pelosi's view, in cases of violating immigration laws plus breaking what she might term a "real" law.

Nancy Pelosi recently told Telemundo (Spanish broadcast here) that violations of immigration law should no longer have any consequences:

“Our view of the law is that it — if somebody is here without sufficient documentation, that is not reason for deportation.”

This wasn’t just a verbal flub; her spokesman reiterated the point, saying her comment was merely “a restatement of her long-held belief that being an undocumented immigrant is not a basis for deportation.”

Nor can you write this off as just another moronic comment from the lightweight House minority leader. Rather, it’s simply an explicit articulation of the policy the Obama administration has been pursuing for five years, namely of making immigration violation a “secondary offense.” As an example of the concept, failing to wear a seatbelt is a secondary offense in many states, meaning that you can’t be pulled over by a state trooper for not wearing a seatbelt, but you can receive an additional fine if you’ve already been pulled over for a primary offense (speeding, for instance).

...

The implications are huge, and not limited to the tenure of this administration, since this is now the consensus Democratic party position. It means the substance of immigration legislation is irrelevant; John Boehner and Paul Ryan can stuff a million enforcement provisions into an amnesty bill and it’s all just for show if being an illegal alien is no longer a reason to be removed from the country.

Indeed. So long as you get here, and do not commit a crime the Democrats consider deportation-worthy, you can stay.

posted by Ace at 03:05 PM

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