Prosecutorial Discretion
I heard and saw all kinds of trash talk from Repubs about how Zero was going to violate all kinds of laws with his executive order on immigration, but all he announced tonight was the enforcement priorities for the Department of Homeland Security regarding undocumented immigrants. Every prosecutor in the US can decide what criminal cases will or won’t be tried, so it defies logic to insist that the head of the Executive Branch of the US government doesn’t have the same power in dealing with government regulations.
Let’s be clear, it is not a crime to enter the country without getting the proper paperwork. There is no such thing as an ‘illegal alien’. Undocumented immigrants aren’t tried for being in the US ‘illegally’, they have a hearing before an administrative law judge for failing to comply with the appropriate rules and regulations. They don’t get attorneys, bail hearings, or any of the other requirements of a criminal trial. They don’t face prison time if the judge rules against them, they are deported. They didn’t break a law, they failed to abide by the rules.
November 20, 2014 2 Comments
