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PrintMay 11, 2011
Obama visits Texas; meanwhile back at the capitol...
Barack Obama was in Texas yesterday taking care of important business. No, he wasn't surveying the areas of the state which have been devastated by wild fires. Mr. Obama didn't meet with Governor Perry to assuage his concerns that Texas was being denied federal disaster assistance in a show of partisan revenge. It seems that the suddenly heroic narcissist in chief was in the Lone Star State to turn his laser-like focus on his 2012 re-election campaign.
The self-appointed "Lone Star" of the OBL mission was in Texas to whip up support for his campaign by pandering to the well-organized and carefully selected immigration reform crowd. During his speech in El Paso, Mr. Obama took credit for doubling the number of Border Patrol officers (done under George W. Bush) and gushed about how under his leadership "100 percent of southbound rail shipments" are being screened to stop the flow of guns into Mexico (Operation "Gun Runner" and "Fast and Furious" weapons aren't shipped by rail). The factually challenged Obama stirred up the crowd by slamming the Republicans in order to elicit the requisite cry of "They're racist!"
Meanwhile back at the Texas State Capitol, House Bill 12 was passed by a vote of 100-47. The bill which now heads to the Senate would help to enforce state and federal immigration laws by eliminating "sanctuary cities" in Texas.
CSHB 12 would prohibit local government entities from adopting rules, orders, ordinances, or policies that prohibited the enforcement of state or federal immigration law.The bill would apply to cities, counties, and special districts and authorities, and officers and employees and other bodies that were part of these entities, including sheriffs, city police departments, city and county attorneys, district attorneys, and criminal district attorneys. It would not apply in general to school districts, open-enrollment charter schools, or junior colleges, but would apply to commissioned peace officers employed by these education entities.[...]CSHB 12 would ensure that all law enforcement officers in Texas worked under a consistent, statewide policy that did not restrict them from upholding all state and federal laws. Cities, law enforcement agencies, and other entities should not be able to pick and choose which laws they want to enforce. There should not be even a perception that Texas law enforcement officers are hamstrung from enforcing immigration law.
The phenomenon of "sanctuary cities," (which include the extreme liberal bastions of San Francisco and Chicago) have created numerous problems for state and federal law enforcement agencies as municipalities have taken the unconstitutional step of choosing not to fulfill their legal obligation to enforce the law. The Obama regime and the DOJ have been far too busy choosing which laws they will or will not enforce (DOMA for example) to take any action against these rogue cities.
The usual insane rhetoric is spewing forth from Texas' Democrats. The El Paso Times reports that Rene Oliveira (D-Brownsville) said "now you'll get stopped for driving while Mexican" and Joe Pickett (D-El Paso) said that the Republicans "believe that things like this are meant to keep Hispanics from taking over." Senator Jose Rodriguez (D-El Paso) is not optimistic about his party's chances of defeating the bill in the Senate, but said "Obviously, I will do everything I can to try and stop the sanctuary cities bill."
If the bill passes the Senate as it is expected to and Governor Perry signs it into law, then Eric Holder and Barack Obama will more than likely spring into action and bring suit to stop Texas from actually enforcing existing immigration law. Will they follow their Arizona strategy of condemning the bill, calling in their MSM minions to launch a campaign of misinformation and then initiating legal action, before any of them actually take the time to read what they are trying to destroy? Stay tuned, the Obama regime is nothing if not predictable.
