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Heres where things stand heading into day 34 of the Trump administration:

A new front has emerged in the battle over President Trumps immigration policy given his plan to ramp up enforcement against undocumented immigrants.

Over the weekend, news broke that Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly signed new guidelines empowering federal authorities to more aggressively detain and deport illegal immigrants inside the United States. Immigrant rights advocates reacted with fear and outrage.

The administration sought to allay their concernsTuesday during a conference call with reporters: Asenior official with the Department of Homeland Security said the measures are not intended to produce mass deportations and will take time to implement.

The Trump administration on Feb. 21 issued guidelines strengthening enforcement against illegal immigration but insisted that it isn't seeking "mass deportations." (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

But given Trumps harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric from the campaign trail, immigrant rights groups and Democratic lawmakers are still on alert.

The new guidelines called for the hiring of thousands of additional enforcement agents, expanding the pool of immigrants who are prioritized for removal, speeding up deportation hearings and enlisting local law enforcement to help make arrests, our colleague wrote.

TRUMP DENOUNCES RACISM AND ANTI-SEMITIC VIOLENCE

Trump has faced pressure for weeks to clearly decry the sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents around the country.

On Tuesday, he finally did so during a visit to Washingtons National Museum of African American History and Culture.

This tour was a meaningful reminder of why we have to fight bigotry, intolerance and hatred in all of its very ugly forms, Trump said, reading off prepared remarks.

President Trump urged Americans to "fight bigotry, intolerance and hatred in all of its very ugly forms," including antisemitic threats targeted at Jewish community centers, speaking on Feb. 21 at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. (The Washington Post)

The anti-Semitic threats targeting our Jewish community and community centers are horrible and are painful and a very sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil.

As our colleagues wrote, the statement was notably somber and disciplined a departure from the flashes of irritation he showed at a news conference last week at the White House, when he dismissed related questions from reporters.

Pressure had mounted after another wave of bomb threats hit Jewish community centers in multiple states on Monday and more than 170 Jewish gravestones were toppled at a cemetery near St. Louis over the weekend.

TRUMP PLANS TO ROLL BACK TRANSGENDER STUDENT PROTECTIONS

The bathroom debate looks like its about to start all over again.

Under a policy issued by the Obama administration, public school students were permitted to use bathrooms that match their gender identities rather than the sex listed on their birth certificates.

Now, it appears the Trump administration is preparing to change that. Aspokesman for Trump said the Education and Justice departments will provide new guidance on the issue, which he called a matter for states to decide.

As our colleagues wrote, Trumps decision would not have an immediate impact on the nations public school students because a federal judge had already put a hold on the Obama-era directive issued in May.

It would, however, affect several legal cases and indicate whether Trump will hew closer to the GOP party line on LGBT issues than he did on the campaign trail.

Follow the author @eliseviebeck.

Read more here:
Trump's First 100 Days: Illegal immigrants, anti-Semitism and transgender students - Washington Post

Victors excellent column on illegal immigration raises the tough questions presented by removable aliens who have committed serious but non-violent identity-fraud crimes. They are tough because they implicate the gray area between two extremes.

On one end, everyone knows that it is neither possible nor desirable to deport the entire illegal-immigrant population (estimated at 11 million-plus); on the other, there is strong consensus that serious criminals and those in defiance of deportation orders should be deported forthwith, though we know this is just a minority subset of that population. It is not an insignificant subset: As Victor notes, even before President Trump entered office, close to a million people were facing government removal orders.

This brings to the fore a subject on which I fear Im becoming a broken record, but Ill hit it again anyway. Since 9/11, weve lost the distinction between national-security challenges and crime problems. Illegal immigration is a crime problem. Yes, it has some important national-security aspects (as do other crime problems), but the percentage of illegal aliens who threaten national security (as opposed to who are recidivist criminals) is negligible.

The distinction is important. We must always have as a goal eradicating national-security challenges even if the goal is unrealistic, a single terrorist attack can be so catastrophic, we must take extra measures to prevent it. To the contrary, it is not our goal to eradicate crime problems it would neither be possible nor desirable (in terms of the costs to liberty) to do that.

Crime problems do not lend themselves to comprehensive solutions. Instead, they are managed by reasonable and hopefully efficient law enforcement.

Since enforcement resources are finite, priority will be given to removing serious criminals in the illegal-immigrant population. But what is a serious crime? The answer to this question, Victor points out, will depend on our view of identity-fraud crimes (and related varieties of document fraud). These are felonies. Because illegal aliens commit them massively, their apologists want us to think of such offenses as unserious. But they are even conceivable that way only when compared to heinous violent crimes; and we know they are not unserious because they are treated quite seriously by the government when committed by American citizens.

I dont think it is useful to make a rule about how we should regard identity-fraud offenders in the immigration population, because the offense behavior varies so widely. One person may have gotten a single fraudulent ID years ago in order to get a job, in connection with which he pays taxes, living an otherwise law-abiding life and being an asset to his community. Another may use fraudulent IDs to purloin benefits from social-welfare programs. Another may be in the fraudulent-ID business.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to this. Better simply to let law enforcement do its job.

A sensible allocation of resources in immigration enforcement would focus on border security, apprehension and removal of known criminal aliens, and the magnets of illegal immigration employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens and the abuse of welfare programs. If you address those things, you eliminate or drastically reduce the incentive for immigrants to come to or stay in the U.S. illegally. The illegal-immigrant population would decrease, probably dramatically.

Beyond that, illegal immigrants who choose to stay here take their chances. The thing I have never understood about proposals for comprehensive immigration reform is the presumption that it is our obligation as Americans not only to address but to cure the illegal status of people who choose to violate our laws by entering our country illegally or overstaying their legal permission to remain here. If you are an illegal alien in this country, that is your choice and therefore your problem, not mine. (Caveat: I am not talking about DREAMers; they are a comparatively small category of people who were brought here as children, whose illegal status is not their fault, and who have never known any home other than the United States.)

I dont believe we need to or should hassle people, including illegal aliens, who are generally law-abiding. But if you are not here legally, and you encounter police when they are carrying out their normal duties, you run the risk of being arrested and deported. Maybe in an individual case, the equities will call for exercising discretion against triggering removal proceedings. But in most cases, illegal aliens who are encountered in the course of ordinary law enforcement operations should be detained and deported.

See original here:
Treat Illegal Immigration Like What It Is: A Law Enforcement Problem - National Review

Prompted by concern's over President Trump's immigration crackdown, Chicago public schools Tuesday its principals Tuesday to refuse entry to any immigration officer without a warrant at their school, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Nearly half of Chicagos 381,000 students are Hispanic and concerns have risen about the possibility of authorities detaining parents outside schools and their children inside.

"To be very clear, CPS does not provide assistance to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the enforcement of federal civil immigration law," the message to principals said.

Homeland Security announced plans to hire thousands of immigration officials and border patrol officers and focus on illegal immigrants who have committed a crime or have criminal charges pending.

A district spokesman told the Chicago Tribune that the third-largest school system in the U.S. is not aware of any efforts from ICE officials to enter school buildings.

It remains unknown how much interest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will show in schools under Trump. There is little schools can do to thwart agents who show up with warrants, but they are acting at least in part to ease concerns of skittish immigrant communities.

The latest Trump administration guidance leaves in place Obama-era policies limiting enforcement actions at "sensitive locations," including schools. While those policies say agents should generally avoid apprehending anyone inside those designated areas, they do not stop agents from obtaining records or serving subpoenas.

Principals around the country have been stepping up efforts to make students feel supported, said JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

In Syracuse, New York, the school board approved a policy this month requiring schools to deny access to ICE officials until they consult with the superintendent. In Salt Lake City, Utah, on Tuesday the school district discussed a resolution. Connecticut's governor on Wednesday advised school districts in that state to refer any ICE agents to the superintendent. And in New York City, principals there have been told that immigration officers many not be granted access without legal authority.

Some experts say it's unlikely administrators will be tested.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C., which supports tighter immigration policies, said schools do not seem to have reason for alarm and Chicago Public Schools and others implementing similar policies mostly appear to be "showing off."

Among those prioritized for arrest under the new guidelines are immigrants who abuse public benefits, which Krikorian said could include free and reduced school lunches.

"It could well affect them, but again that has nothing to do with the school grounds," he said. "It's not like ICE goes in there and says, 'Drop that tater tot, kid.'"

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Read more here:
Chicago Public Schools take measures against illegal immigration crackdown - Fox News

Ive been reporting on, and criticizing, illegal immigration for more than a decade, and things are worse now -- for everyone -- than when I started.

Why it is worse can be expressed in two phrases:

Donald Trump and illegal entitlement.

The president is a blunderbuss, but he represents Americans who are up toherewith undocumented people claiming rights that dont exist.

The enforce the damn law guidelines from Homeland Security this week shocked those here illegally and their enablers. This might be a good time for them to sue for peace.

Its also a good time for the media to stop muddying the water by pretending immigration and illegal immigration are interchangeable. They are no more synonymous than pharmacist and drug dealer. Ones legal, ones not.

When its reported that President Trumps crackdown threatens immigrant communities, thats fear-mongering. Legal immigrants have nothing to fear.

As the Pew Research Center reported this week, 75 percent of Phillys immigrants did the right thing and came here legally.

If those here illegally are fearful, thats self-inflicted. When you choose to break the law, you dont get to play the victim.

Over the years, I have interviewed some of the undocumented, and I sympathize with them on a human level, but I dont condone their law-breaking. Not one of them has ever expressed remorse.

I asked them three questions.

1. Did you come here voluntarily?The answer is yes, except in the cases of minors brought here by a parent. They shouldnt be punished, and thats why I supportDACA--Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which protectsthem from deportation. That remains in effect under the new guidelines.

2. Did you know you were coming here illegally?Yes, thats why they sneaked in or overstayed a visa.

3. Did you know there might be consequences if you were caught?Yes, thats why they live in the shadows. Illegal immigrants and their supporters have to stop pretending they did nothing wrong and stop demanding immunity from laws they knowingly violated. No one has a right to be here without permission.

Then where do we go?

We donotoffer amnesty, because we did that in 1986 when we had three million of the undocumented. Now we have 12 million. If we do the same thing again, we will get the same result.

In 2015, Pew Research reported that 70 percent of Americans want the good people to remain here, but they oppose a free pass. They want mercyandjustice.

I have a five-point plan that offers both, gives each side a win:

1. Seal our southern border with a barrier that can be a physical wall where necessary, but can include fencing, Border Patrol agents, cameras, motion detectors, drones,Komododragons if necessary.

2. Since jobs are a magnet, lock up employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers. SendCEOsto jail for a year and those jobs will dry up like peas in a rotisserie.

3. Implement a statute of limitations for those here at least five years who have a clean record. Thats almost 90 percent of those here illegally. In many states, after a certain number of years you cant be prosecuted for crimes such as arson, counterfeiting, fraud, even some sexual offenses. Id add illegal entry to the list.

4. Allow people protected by statute to come forward, be documented, and become legal residents. They pay whatever fines, taxes, and penalties owed. They submit to fingerprinting andbiometricsto establish their identity.

5. Bar those who become legal residents from applying for citizenship, as punishment for breaking our laws. Minor children they brought to this country with them would be eligible for citizenship, and children born here, of course, are citizens.

This is not amnesty. It has penalties, but keeps families together while disrupting the avenues for illegal immigration.

Just and merciful.

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Byko: A five-point plan to solve illegal immigration - Philly.com

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Tor Berger Jrgensen, formerly thebishop of Sr-Hlogaland in northern Norway, sent out a series of letters last week to various Christian organizations requesting that they provide employment for those unable to work legally in Norway.

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Although employing illegal immigrants is against the law, the bishop said that his campaign was about giving people in a hopeless situation the chance at a livelihood.

Jrgensen, who is also a well-known agitator for gay rights, said he has already received several positive responses from people who would like to help.

I am quite optimistic that we can achieve something among church organizations and with church connections, he said.

Jrgensen was inspired by learning that an evangelical church in Stavanger, Norway, had employed an Eritrean woman named Tita who had been living in the country illegally for 8 years, a move he called brave and important.

The bishop has reportedly requested a meeting with Immigration Minister Sylvi Listhaug (FRP), who has called the 71-year-old bishops proposal irresponsible.

What he is in fact doing is creating false hopes for people who have to return to their homeland, she said. Individuals who have received a final rejection of their asylum application are obliged to return home.

For his part, Jrgensen posted on Facebook that what the Minister calls illegal is really just self-defense.

Sylvi Listhaug calls us irresponsible, the bishop responded in a recent op-ed, because we encourage people to do something illegal. But Listhaug doesnt know what degrading and dehumanizing experiences many undocumented have had over the years.

According to current legislation, employers who hire illegal foreign workers are subject to fines or imprisonment.

Christian Wedler, a local leader for the Progress Party (FRP) in Stavanger, said that he understands the desire to help people who find themselves in a difficult situation, yet people must also consider what is right for the country and the big picture.

If an asylum application has no consequences, then the system will collapse altogether and we are going to experience arrangements that ensure that the whole asylum system is in jeopardy, he said.

Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter

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Christians Should Break the Law and Employ Illegal Immigrants, Says Norway Bishop - Breitbart News