Most Americans against Obama immigration amnesty

USA Today published on November 18, the results of a poll it conducted showing that 46% are against President Obama’s plan to issue an executive order granting amnesty to millions of illegal aliens while 42% were in favor.

Considering that USA Today is generally regarded as a liberal (translation pro Obama) newspaper, one can speculate that the margin of error is at least 10%, meaning that 56% could be against amnesty.

A question of fairness and the rule of law

During our radio talk show on community issues at KPRP in Honolulu on Monday morning the three panelists—Atty. Abraham Mariano, newspaper editor Rafael Alimbuyuguen, and this writer—albeit with different political persuasions, were unanimous in opposing Mr. Obama’s planned amnesty on the ground that it would be unfair to Filipinos who are following the law and patiently waiting in line for the visas of the relatives they petitioned to become available. I described the situation as akin to that of a movie theater’s patrons with tickets waiting in line for the doors of the theater to open and then suddenly a lawless group breaks into the line and shove the patrons aside. The manager gives amnesty to the lawless and allows them to enter ahead of the patrons. 

If amnesty is granted, Mr. Obama will have to take hundreds of immigration officers currently assigned to process petitions away from their duties in order to process the petitions of the amnestied. This will delay even further the processing of the papers of the law abiding. This is what happened when the Obama administration granted amnesty to the children illegally brought by their parents to this country (DACA).

The Obama administration cannot just hire new immigration officers. It takes at least a year to hire a new immigration officer based on my experience when I was hired. Immigration has to test the applicant’s knowledge of immigration law, skills, character, fitness for the job, mental health, physical health, drug tests, and interview the applicant’s neighbors and references.

After our radio show, I went to the coffee shop across my Honolulu office and conducted an informal poll of the Filipino habitués, many of whom are Democrats. They were also unanimous in opposing amnesty.

I later visited my friend Atty. James A. Stanton, one of the best immigration lawyers in Hawaii, with whom I work in handling a number of deportation cases, what he thought of Mr. Obama’s planned amnesty. He said that although it is possible some of our clients might benefit from it, he was not in favor of amnesty and added that he could not imagine any Filipino supporting it.

Obama amnesty will spawn frauds and scams

But there are. I got a call from a Filipina who refused to give her name but whose telephone number is recorded in my cell phone saying that a “friend” has been in Hawaii for about 20 years and that her tourist visa had expired. Somebody had asked her friend to pay $1,000 so that “the somebody” could fix her amnesty application, plus another $1,000 for the filing fee. She asked how much I charge. See, Obama amnesty has already spawned rackets and scams and Mr. Obama has not yet issued the executive order. There will be other rackets and spams. In 1986 I was asked by the San Francisco INS District Director who was my friend to assist without remuneration in the processing of the applications of illegal aliens granted amnesty by an immigration reform act which required that the illegal alien must have been in the country before January 1, 1982. Obama amnesty will also likely have a cutoff date. To prove that they were here before the cutoff date, several aliens produced pre January 1, 1982 rental receipts. They were evidently carbon copies with only the dates changed. Some aliens produced pre January 1, 1982 electric bills which were photocopies. How can the electric consumption be exactly the same for several months? There were also fake sales receipts from stores in the Mission District that did not even exist before 1982. After a few days, I told the director that I could no longer stomach this massive fraud against the United States.

Hawaii Governor-Elect David Ige and his wife Dawn with (from left) Ernie Abara, Atty. Emmanuel S. Tipon, and Noel Calixto, leaders of the Friends of Bongbong Marcos who spearheaded the Filipino effort to elect Mr. Ige, a virtual unknown a year ago, which was decisive in the election. (Photo courtesy of Emmanuel Tipon)

(Atty. Tipon has a Master of Laws degree from Yale Law School and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines. He specializes in immigration law and criminal defense. Office: 800 Bethel St., Suite 402, Honolulu, HI 96813. Tel. (808) 225-2645. E-Mail: filamlaw@yahoo.com. Websites:  www.MilitaryandCriminalLaw.com. He is from Laoag City and Magsingal, Ilocos Sur. He served as an Immigration Officer. He is co-author of “Immigration Law Service, 1^st ed.,” an 8-volume practice guide for immigration officers and lawyers. Listen to the most funny, interesting, and useful radio program in Hawaii on KNDI at 1270 AM dial every Thursday at 7:30 a.m. This article is a general overview of the subject matter discussed and is not intended as legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is established between the writer and readers relying upon and/or acting pursuant to the contents of this article.)