All
summer,
citizens have
been crying
out, 'Why
doesn't
somebody take
this to
court!' over
Janet
Napolitano's
Dream amnesty
directive.
THIS
MORNING, ICE
AGENTS DID . .
. with the
promise of
help from
NumbersUSA
members!
In
the last hour, a
group of 10
federal
immigration-enforcement
agents --
including the
president of the
agents' union --
filed suit
against
Department of
Homeland
Security (DHS)
Secretary Janet
Napolitano and
ICE Director
John Morton.
The
suit seeks an
injunction
against
Napolitano's
June 15
directive that
includes issuing
work permits to
a whole class of
illegal aliens,
estimated at 1.7
million, under
the age of 31.
The 10 agents of
the Immigration
and Customs
Enforcement
(ICE) section of
DHS contend that
the directive
for the amnesty
that DHS began
to hand out on
Aug. 15 is "unlawful and
unconstitutional."
Kris Kobach,
the nation's
best-known
immigration
litigator, is
leading the
agents' legal
team.
Chris Crane,
president of the
ICE Agents'
Union, AGFE
Council #119, is
the public
spokesman for
the plaintiffs.
NumbersUSA, the
nation's
largest
pro-enforcement
grassroots
organization,
is
underwriting
the suit,
based on the
expectation of
raising the
necessary funds
from our 1.3
million on-line
activists.
The
suit was filed
this morning in
Dallas, in the
federal District
Court for the
Northern
District of
Texas, which is
in the 5th
Circuit. (The
majority of the
ICE agent
plaintiffs,
including one in
Dallas, reside
and work in
Texas.)
The
court action
comes just one
week after the
ICE agents'
union
courageously set
up an on-line
petition to
protest their
bosses' orders
to violate U.S.
immigration laws
(find the link
in the box
below).
What
is at stake for
ICE agents is
stated plainly
in the lawsuit:
This
lawsuit seeks to
prevent law
enforcement
officer
Plaintiffs from
being forced to
either violate
federal law if
they comply with
the unlawful
Directive or
risk adverse
employment
action if they
disobey the
unlawful orders
of the DHS
Secretary. This
lawsuit also
seeks to
preserve the
balance of
legislative and
executive powers
established by
the United
States
Constitution.
| Actions You Can Take |
|
LEGAL TEAM TO
BE FUNDED
ENTIRELY BY
NUMBERSUSA
MEMBER
CONTRIBUTIONS
ACTION 1:
Be sure you
and all of
your friends sign the petition to ICE Director John Morton
to show DHS
that you
support the
ICE agents
whose union
has been
urging that
they be
allowed to
enforce the
immigration
laws passed by
Congress:
ACTION 2:
You'll want to
go to your
NumbersUSA
Action Board
and send new faxes to your 3 Members of Congress
that we've
just now
posted there.
Tell them
about the
lawsuit and
ask them to
issue public
statements
showing their
own support
for protecting
ICE agents'
ability to
enforce
immigration
laws without
fear of
disciplinary
action and
firing. (Some
Senators and
Representatives
already have
released
statements of
support. Their
names won't
show up on
your fax.)
ACTION 3:
Think about
every time you
blew a fuse
this summer
upon hearing
about the
Administration's
decision to go
around
Congress and
just order an
amnesty on its
own. At those
times, would
you have been
willing to send a $10, $20, $50 or $100 donation
to anybody
willing to
stand up and
challenge the
legality in
court?
When
we saw the ICE
agents' union
in July
publicly
protesting
Napolitano's
amnesty order,
we felt on the
basis of
hearing our
members
pleading all
summer for
somebody to
take the order
to court that
we could --
and should --
step out on
faith. We
pledged the
financial
support that
was needed for
the agents to
file its suit
effectively
and
expeditiously
-- and take it
through the
court system
as far as it
can go.
We
did this even
though we had
no money for
such an action
in our budget.
But users of
NumbersUSA's
activist tools
have stepped
up to finance
every major
anti-amnesty
effort we've
mounted (AND
WON) in the
past. All of
you together
have always
been a citizen
movement at
its finest.
Please click
on the red
button to find
the many ways
you can make
your
tax-deductible
contribution.
|
|
WAGES & LIVELIHOODS OF AMERICAN WORKERS
DEPEND ON ICE
AGENTS WHO ARE
ENFORCING
IMMIGRATION
LAWS
We
have argued
since
Napolitano's
amnesty order on
June 15 that
adding 1.7
million illegal
aliens to the
legal work force
-- especially
without
offsetting cuts
in green card
programs and
without passage
of mandatory
E-Verify to stop
most future
illegal
immigration --
is an assault on
the 20 million
Americans who
want a full-time
job but can't
find one.
But
by tying the
hands of ICE
agents, the
directive poses
an even greater
threat to
American workers
because it sends
a signal to
millions more
workers
worldwide that
it may be worth
taking the risks
to become an
illegal alien in
this country.
Polling
indicates
hundreds of
millions of
workers around
the world who
say they would
like to seek a
job in the U.S.
What keeps most
of them from
coming illegally
to compete for
jobs?
Every
year, some 45
million
foreigners visit
the U.S. on
short-term
visas. What
keeps most of
them from
over-staying
their visas and
competing for
jobs?
The
answer to both
questions is
that most of
those millions
of foreign
workers stay
home or go back
home because
they expect that
U.S. immigration
officials will
enforce U.S.
immigration
laws.
The
Napolitano
directive sends
a global message
to expect
something
different.
Here
is my statement
just sent in a
press release to
the nation's
news media:
Any
threat of harm
to our nation's
immigration
officers for
enforcing the
law is a threat
against the
livelihoods of
average American
workers.
Congress passes
laws to
determine how
many and which
citizens of
other countries
are allowed to
enter U.S. job
markets to
compete with
American
workers.
Fortunately
during this long
period of high
unemployment,
Congress has
refused to add
further
competition
through
amnesties that
would give
millions of
illegal aliens
access to the
legal U.S. job
market.
But the
Napolitano
amnesty
directive does
the opposite. If
immigration
agents are not
allowed to
enforce the laws
as decided by
Congress, the
wages and jobs
of American
workers are at
risk.
Read
the entire
Complaint filed
in court today
at this
link.
Our
home
page is
full of
background
information and
will continually
post the latest
breaking news
surrounding this
bold action by
ICE agents on
behalf of them
and their fellow
officers and for
the benefit of
the American
people. We'll
also be sending
you email
updates.
THANKS FOR SUPPORTING THE AGENTS WITH AS MANY
OF THE ABOVE
ACTIONS AS
POSSIBLE,
|
Sign
the Petition
