Lawmakers Block Deportations In Ohio, Calif.

In disgraceful acts to help those who violate U.S. law, federal legislators in different parts of the country have blocked the deportation of illegal immigrants in the last few days.

The three federal lawmakers from California and Ohio, all Democrats, claim to be acting on behalf of the illegal aliens because they were brought into the U.S. as children by their undocumented parents. Therefore, the thinking goes, they should not be punished for something they had no control over.

This week a U.S. Senator (Sherrod Brown) and congressman (Steve Driehaus) from Ohio intervened on behalf of an 18-year-old Guatemalan facing deportation. The illegal alien, Barnard Pastor, was arrested after a traffic accident last week for driving without a license and was earmarked for removal. The lawmakers appealed to federal authorities at the request of immigration advocates who say Pastor is a model student at a Cincinnati-area high school.

In a letter to a pair of high-ranking officials at the Department of Homeland Security, Congressman Driehaus wrote that deporting the Guatemalan teen “would not serve in the interests of the citizens of the United States, whose tax dollars would be better spent pursuing removals that fit more clearly into the priorities outlined by (ICE).”

Last week California Senator Dianne Feinstein used her political power to halt the deportation of an illegal immigrant from Peru who benefits from taxpayer-financed discounted tuition at San Francisco Community College. In this case the veteran senator took it a step further by actually introducing legislation to permanently shield the 20-year-old illegal alien (Steve Li) from removal.

Li’s attorney was shocked by Feinstein’s measure, saying that “it’s extremely rare for a private bill to be introduced” on behalf of one individual. Feinstein said she intervened because Li moved to San Francisco with his parents when he was 12 and didn’t know they were all in the country illegally until immigration agents arrested them this fall. The only hope for a positive future is that Li be able to finish his education and remain in the U.S., Feinstein said.