When President Barack Obama’s executive order “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” – or DACA – went into effect in 2012, conservatives warned that granting de facto amnesty for more than 1 million illegal immigrants would attract more illegal crossings.  Now there’s proof. In 2011, roughly 6,000 illegal…

With the Senate gearing up to pass the third version of the Gang of Eight’s immigration reform bill by the end of the week, conservatives in the House of Representatives have five important reasons to let it die and start over. 1.  Every version of the bill has been secretly negotiated and hastily considered No part of this bill has ever…

Even though the United States Senate refused to adopt Rand Paul’s amendment to the Gang of Eight’s immigration bill, his ‘Trust But Verify’ idea is one that conservatives should keep an eye on as the debate moves to the House of Representatives. Already growing in popularity among House Republicans, Paul’s proposal would…

Here’s an ironclad rule for negotiating with someone of dubious trustworthiness: don’t give away something tangible today in exchange for a promise tomorrow. It’s the reason that everything from swapping tax hikes for budget cuts to notions like “land for peace” don’t work out. Take away your leverage over me and…

A little-noticed section of the Gang of Eight’s immigration reform bill could funnel up to $100 million in taxpayer-provided funds to leftwing community organizers for helping to “integrate” newly legalized immigrants into American society. At the heart of the 24-page scheme (pp.383-407) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. The…

Despite what supporters of the Gang of Eight’s immigration reform bill say, it does not address the most important concerns of conservatives. There are no tough new border security measures, and lots of loopholes for fast-tracking eligibility for welfare and citizenship. With elites in both parties ignoring conservatives, how should the latter…

Of all the people to feel sorry for in the wake of last week’s terrorist attack in Boston, members of the United States Senate surely don’t even merit inclusion towards the bottom of the list. The carnage that played out in one of America’s great cities was the sort of achingly poignant tragedy that makes talk of pedestrian politics…

If the Obama Administration can’t be bothered to secure the border with Mexico, then congressional Republicans should oppose any deal on comprehensive immigration reform. It all comes down to one word: integrity.  For three years, members of Congress have been waiting for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to produce a border…

When President Barack Obama ordered immigration officials this summer to implement DREAM Act policies despite Congress’ objection, he did more than make an end-run around the legislative branch.  He violated the Constitution by breaching his duty to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” So say law professors Robert…

Call it the law of intended consequences. When President Barack Obama decided he could rewrite America’s immigration laws without any input from Congress, he opened the floodgates for liberals at all levels of government to legitimize illegal aliens through bureaucratic fiat.  But even the one-time community organizer probably didn&rsquo…

Note: I host a weekly radio show on Thursday nights on WAVH-FM in Mobile, AL. Last week’s topic was Alabama’s controversial new law against illegal immigrants. Below is my opening monologue, slightly shortened and adapted into a news-column format. It’s time to ask the question: What part of the word "IL-legal" do some…

With budgets tight and duties being reprioritized, the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency gave a gift to the pro-amnesty crowd by implementing parts of the deeply unpopular DREAM Act without Congressional approval.  By doing so, ICE bypassed the democratic process in favor of delivering another blow to the rule of law. …

What if there was a way to link economic growth, job creation and an easier pathway for foreign investors to relocate to the United States – all without having to pass a single federal law?  As usual, the legal answer to a political problem is already on the books.  It just needs to be followed.  As part of the Immigration Act…

Barack Obama, fresh off the biggest triumph of his presidency, was given a rare opportunity by the death of Osama Bin Laden: the chance to be effortlessly presidential, floating above the partisan fray and standing as a totem of unity in a country riven by ideological polarization. That promise expired on Tuesday, when Obama traveled to El Paso, Texas…

How do you go from pushing Congress for a permanent assault weapons ban to letting military-style guns “walk” into the hands of Mexican drug cartels?  If you are U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, extreme swings in regulation aren’t just costing gun sellers peace of mind – they are costing lives on both sides of the border…

Lost amid the legal wrangling over whether states like Arizona have the constitutional right to enforce federal immigration laws is a far simpler question: Is the United States government’s refusal to secure the border an abandonment of American citizens?  For those living on the nation’s edge, reality is inescapable.  In testimony…

On the Friday before Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced plans to scrap the so-called “virtual fence” project along the 2,000 mile United States-Mexico border.  The official reasons cited included cost overruns and technology failures.  The truth, of course, is a different story.&…

1. The DREAM Act Is NOT Limited to Children, And It Will Be Funded On the Backs Of Hard Working, Law-Abiding Americans Proponents of the DREAM Act frequently claim the bill offers relief only to illegal alien “kids.” Incredibly, previous versions of the DREAM Act had no age limit at all, so illegal aliens of any age who satisfied the Act…

Passing controversial legislation with narrow majorities and parliamentary tricks is a recipe for electoral disaster.  Cramming a series of unpopular votes into a lame duck session after a national shellacking is political suicide.  Apparently, outgoing U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is to House Democrats what Jack Kevorkian was to…

The Obama Justice Department’s decision to sue Arizona for copying federal immigration law is more than just the latest example of political calculations trumping sound legal reasoning.  Combined with its refusal to press charges against members of the New Black Panthers for voter intimidation and fighting for a terrorist’s right to…

On Monday, June 7, U.S. Border Patrol agents on bicycles were attempting to arrest two men illegally crossing the border from Mexico to the U.S. on the banks of the Rio Grande near El Paso.  As they were detaining the two, one of whom had previously been deported for illegal entry, the agents were met with “large” rocks thrown by a…

A hallmark of today’s liberals is their commitment to protest without sacrifice.  The most recent series of examples come from city councils reacting to Arizona’s new illegal immigration law.  From Los Angeles to Boston, local elected officials are declaring disapproval of the Grand Canyon State by promising to boycott it. …

In the public ceremony welcoming the state visit of Mexican President Felipe Calderon, President Obama could have been diplomatic and graceful, without attacking Arizona for its new illegal immigration law.  Instead, he chose to provoke and exacerbate, for political purpose, an already out-of-control political attack on the state for a law not…

Once again, a bright conservative attorney is proving the virtue of careful attention to detail.  On its face, Arizona’s new immigration law sounds in perfect harmony with the express will of decades-old pronouncements of the national legislature.  Thanks to the efforts of Kris Kobach, an immigration law expert and one of the architects…

Wouldn’t you know it?  Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s ink is hardly dry on Arizona’s new illegal immigrant law, and it has ignited a national outcry with all the usual suspects saying all the usual things.  We’ve seen this movie before, and it’s getting really old. What is getting even older is the abject failure…

Sometimes, the public square can be mistaken for an insane asylum.  On November 5th, an amendment to a bill funding the Census Bureau was defeated in the United States Senate.  Unlike most proposed changes to routine spending bills, the amendment co-sponsored by Senators David Vitter (R-Louisiana) and Bob Bennett (R-Utah) would have required…

The United Nations once again has its sights set directly at U.S. sovereignty, as it’s ramping up two broad-based efforts leveled directly at America’s internal governance. For starters, U.N. Secretary-General Ban-Ki-moon seeks to control U.S. carbon output and cripple the U.S. economy. And would you believe that the U.N. also seeks to…