Former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin called for the impeachment of President Barack Obama on July 8. The charges, she specified in her op/ed on Breitbart News, would be based on current transport of minor-aged illegal immigrants to California. What Palin overlooks, however, is that these circumstances result from legislation originating from former president George W. Bush.
Referring to ?Obama’s flood of illegal immigration? in her article, Palin said:
?Enough is enough of the years of abuse from this president. His unsecured border crisis is the last straw that makes the battered wife say, ?no mas.? [?] Many now feel like strangers in their own land.?
In her statement, Palin also threatened members of Congress who wouldn’t follow her request for action.
?It’s time to impeach; and on behalf of American workers and legal immigrants of all backgrounds, we should vehemently oppose any politician on the left or right who would hesitate in voting for articles of impeachment.?
Perhaps Palin should offer the same suggestions that President Obama himself is making, though. Or maybe go back in time to attempt impeachment of another president.
The minor illegal immigrants who INS is attempting to transfer to a California facility are from countries specifically identified as prominent for crimes against children. In the last month of his presidency, George W. Bush signed into law the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (or TVPRA). The Act requires that minors from such countries ? including the Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador homes of these current children ? be allowed extended stay in the U.S., where they will be provided representation from a federal asylum officer, who will represent them in a courtroom setting in which a U.S. judge gets to decide on their deportation.
While well-known for making silly statements, Palin also overlooked that the current president has only done the opposite of what she insinuates. Since Obama assumed the Oval Office in 2009, deportation?of illegal immigrants has continued to set new record highs in each consecutive year, according to data from the Dept. of Homeland Security. In the last reported year of 2012, about 420,000 were deported. In particular, the number of illegal immigrants deported due to criminal activity has almost doubled since 2008, as well.
Of more relevance to this current circumstance, Obama has requested that DHS be allowed more discretion in the applicability of TVPRA to prevent its abuse from asylum seekers, and that courtroom proceedings for those of applicable status be processed much faster.
The entire basis of Palin’s call for impeachment, then, has no foundation?and no basis.
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Edited/Published by JA
