Congress Hard at Work at Nothing at All

By Mary Sanchez, Tribune Content Agency on Mar 16, 2014

Obama will soon hit the 2 million deportee mark, probably in April. I wonder who the unlucky immigrant will be. Someone who has lived peacefully in this country for decades? Maybe nabbed by immigration after a police officer stops him for rolling through a stop sign? Will he have U.S.-born children to support, children who will be left to flounder because their deported father was the primary breadwinner?

That's not an unlikely scenario.

A new study has shown that, despite claims that the feds focus on deporting violent criminals, gang members and other individuals who are clearly not a benefit to the country, under Obama they are scooping up all sorts of immigrants. The study by Immigration Policy Center found that most of the immigrants deported in 2013 had "relatively minor, nonviolent crimes or had no criminal history at all." And many could have been candidates for legal status under immigration reform proposals that have been stalled in Congress.

Obama's dragnet approach was an attempt to curry favor with conservatives. He believed this gesture would bring them to the table to resolve immigration reform. Didn't work.

Hard-working immigrants, and their U.S.-born children, are the collateral damage.

So what does the Enforce Act add to this travesty of government? Nothing. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid quickly pronounced it "dead on arrival" in that chamber.

So there you have it. Wasted time. Wasted energy. Nothing done and nothing likely to get done.

========

Mary Sanchez is an opinion-page columnist for The Kansas City Star. Readers may write to her at: Kansas City Star, 1729 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo. 64108-1413, or via e-mail at msanchez@kcstar.com.