We're So Sorry, Uncle Omar

The lyrics by Paul McCartney actually say "we're so sorry, uncle Albert, we're so sorry if we caused you any pain..." But given that the Obama administration is implementing a form of back-door amnesty for illegal aliens, do you think there is any chance that Onyango Obama (a,k.a. Uncle Omar) recently busted for drunk driving in Massachusetts, will actually be deported even though there is a pending ICE warrant for him? After all, his aunt was also here illegally, collecting welfare and living in government-subsidized housing in Boston (apparently "sharing the wealth" does not apply within the Obama family) and authorities subsequently allowed her to stay.

Putting aside the immigration issues of one particular family, amnesty without the approval of Congress by any name--whether it stems from incompetence, logistics, or so-called prosecutorial discretion--endangers our country. Michelle Malkin explains:

Open-borders advocates will call Uncle Omar “harmless.” But it turns out he’s not only a repeat deportation absconder who has ignored two court orders to leave the country, but he is also a deadbeat who owes thousands in back taxes and a fraudulent Social Security card-holder who has managed to evade authorities for half a century.

The policy that allowed Omar to disappear is “voluntary departure” — a security-undermining mechanism that allows illegal alien border-jumpers and visa-overstayers to simply deport themselves after going through the federal immigration court system...Countless jihadists have benefited enormously from lax enforcement of deportation orders and asylum loopholes.

Uncle Omar somehow--and so far unexplained--obtained a Social Security number and a real driver's license (as opposed to illegals with no valid documentation). The MetroWest News in the Boston area offered this insight:

Were it not for the suspect's last name, the arrest of a Framingham man for drunk driving last week would have gone unnoticed. The suspect was an undocumented immigrant and a fugitive who had been ordered deported years ago. But that's not especially noteworthy either: Everyone knows there are thousands of illegal immigrants in Framingham and other MetroWest communities, and that many of them work under fraudulent Social Security numbers and drive using fake licenses....

But Onyango Obama's story does shine yet another light on America's multi-faceted immigration issue. Like thousands - likely millions - of others, he overstayed his visa, by more than 40 years. But the U.S. does next to nothing to enforce visa expiration dates.How Onyango Obama obtained a Social Security number and whether it is legitimate remains unclear, but there's no dispute that he was ordered deported in 1992. Presumably, the Social Security Administration has known his address and place of employment for years, but did not - perhaps could not - share that information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

Both political parties are at fault in the failure to seal the border and enforce existing law. However, the big push by the Democrats for open borders and driver's licenses for illegals ultimately is about making vote fraud easier. As Boston Herald columnist Howie Carr quips: "You know what they say: They’re only here to vote for the Democrats that Americans won’t vote for anymore.

This isn't just fun and games, however. Obama pal Deval Patrick, the Massachusetts governor, refuses to participate in the federal "Secure Communities" program  which would screen the fingerprints of everyone under arrest to find and deport violent criminals (although the definition of violent is subject to interpretation) with horrific consequences in another drunk driving incident, as described by Herald columnist Michael Graham:

After hearing how a 23-year-old young man named Matthew Denice screamed in anguish as his body was ripped apart beneath a truck; how the victim was still alive when an illegal immigrant driver allegedly backed over him as he fled the police; how the accused killer, Nicolas Guaman, merely shrugged at the police after being arrested.

Even after all this, Patrick rejects Secure Communities. He still believes that when Guaman was arrested in 2008 for assault, breaking and entering, and resisting arrest, Massachusetts did the right thing by not handing him over to immigration authorities. By releasing him back onto the streets of Milford, where he could continue to be a threat to his neighbors.

Incredibly, Patrick claims that illegal immigration was not to blame in the man's death.

By the way, the White House says that Uncle Omar (who otherwise appears to be a "law-abiding" non citizen) will receive no special treatment in his deportation appeal.

Given the failure by the federal government to enforce immigration law, isn't that the problem?

The ICE officers union does not favor this form of stealth or backdoor amnesty. The union, which over a year ago issued a unanimous no confidence vote in ICE Director John Morton, said in part in a recent press release that...

Agents say the policy is a 'law enforcement nightmare' developed by the Administration to win votes at the expense of sound and responsible law enforcement policy. "The desires of foreign nationals illegally in the United States were the framework from which these policies were developed," [Chris] Crane said, "the result is a means for every person here illegally to avoid arrest or detention, as officers we will never know who we can or cannot arrest."

By the way, can we finally put to rest the mythology that illegal aliens contribute more than they take out? This from the Washington Post:

The Internal Revenue Service allowed undocumented workers to collect $4.2 billion in refundable tax credits last year, a new audit says, almost quadruple the sum five years ago. Although undocumented workers are not eligible for federal benefits, the report released Thursday by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration concludes that federal law is ambiguous on whether these workers qualify for a tax break based on earned income called the additional child tax credit....Wage earners who do not have Social Security numbers and are not authorized to work in the United States can use what the IRS calls individual taxpayer identification numbers. Often these result in fraudulent claims on tax returns, auditors found.

If the IRS can locate illegal aliens, why is it so hard for federal immigration officials to do the same?

Update: As predicted...

Officials released President Obama’s uncle from Plymouth County jail yesterday after holding him for more than two weeks on an immigration detainer for violating an order to return to his native Kenya in 1992.

US officials refused to disclose any other information about Onyango Obama, who remained in the United States undetected until Framingham police arrested him Aug. 24 on drunken driving and other charges.

Yesterday, federal immigration officials refused to say whether the 67-year-old Framingham resident posted bond, whether they are keeping track of his whereabouts, or even whether they are still seeking his deportation, raising questions about public accountability in the case.