Immigration Uproar Strikes Washington

http://www.nypost.com

In May, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new “zero tolerance” policy towards illegal immigration and declared that all illegal crossings would be referred to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution. This new hardline towards immigration was spearheaded by presidential policy aide Stephen Miller and President Donald Trump who in recent months has grown upset with his cabinet for not doing enough to cur illegal immigration. However, this new policy requires that immigration officers separate children and minors of all ages from their parents for an indeterminate amount of time.

This immediately sparked outrage among Democrats and groups like the ACLU who declared it as immoral and dehumanizing policy. Public opinion has quickly soured on the president’s immigration policies as pictures and video from these illegal immigrant detainment centers have been revealed through social media and the news. Recently, many Republicans, especially those in competitive races, have came out against this policy as immoral and anti-family values. These Republicans include vocal Trump critics Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) and Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) as well as those usually on the president’s side like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT). All living first ladies including Lara Bush and Melania Trump have made public statements deploring the separation of families.

Despite the wide pushback, the Trump Administration has been steadfast in defending its policy. There have been many conflicting and false statements issued by administration officials like Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen who have denied that the policy actually exists or have stated that Democrats made this happen. Many in the media and on the left have accused the administration of using lies to deceive the American people. President Trump is in no mood for changing the policy due to public pressure from those he considers his opponents.

This public uproar comes just as the House of Representatives votes on two immigration bills to resolve the DACA issue. Both the hardline bill and the more moderate bill plan to end the separation of families and allow adults and their children to be held in detention centers together. While the moderate bill will be able to pass the House, it is likely to be panned by Democrats who view it as anti-immigrant. Meanwhile in the Senate, all Democrats have signed onto Sen. Diane Feinstein’s bill to end the separation of families by enforcing illegal immigration through civil proceedings, returning to the policy which Republicans decry as “Catch and Release.”

Another Obamacare Lawsuit

http://www.denverpost.com

In February, twenty states led by Texas and Wisconsin sued the federal government in the Northern District Court of Texas to argue that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional. The reasoning of these states is that because Congress in the Tax Cut and Jobs Act set the penalty of the individual mandate to zero in conjunction with the Supreme Court decision in NFIB v. Sebelius which established that Obamacare is only constitutional because it is a tax,  Obamacare must be declared void. They argue that because the tax is repealed and the mandate remains, the law as a whole must be declared unconstitutional because it does not contain a severability clause. In response, many Democrat controlled states filed a brief in opposition.

Yesterday, the federal government in a brief announced that it will not defend the law, and that the individual mandate along with the guaranteed issue and community rating regulations for those with pre-existing conditions should be struck down. This was a striking move because the Justice Department usually always defends all federal laws, even the ones the administration does not agree with. However, this is decision is not without precedent because in 2011 the Obama Justice Department refused to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court because the believed that the law was unconstitutional. This legal challenge is one of many that have been leveled at the law, none of which have been successful. However, we must wait and see if this attempt reaches the same fate or is able to convince judges to declare it unconstitutional.