OPINION:
Liberal Democrats don’t like the broad term illegal immigrants, so the joke goes, as they much prefer to think of them as undocumented future registered Democrats.
Two recently elected Democrats, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, are so enamored with illegals that they appear to favor these non-citizens over the legal citizens who obey the law, pay taxes and just happened to have elected them to their respective offices.
One of Mr. Murphy’s first acts in office was the creation of the Office of Immigrant Protection. Although the governor has been vague on the details of the new office, his spokesman told reporters that the Office of Immigrant Protection will serve as a single point of contact for any New Jersey resident facing detention or deportation, with a focus on expanding access to legal services to these residents.
During his gubernatorial campaign, Mr. Murphy vowed to ban state and local police departments from assisting the federal government in “mass deportations.” And according to his campaign website, he also vowed to make life easier for our “undocumented neighbors.” He promised to provide driver’s licenses and statewide ID to illegal immigrants, extend in-state financial aid to the “Dreamers,” those brought illegally to the U.S. as children, increase access to professional licenses for immigrants, raise the minimum wage, guarantee earned sick leave, and strengthen workplace protections.
Under the new governor, New Jersey will also join other states in a lawsuit that challenges President Trump’s authority to end a program that allows Dreamers to avoid deportation.
Across the Delaware River from New Jersey in Philadelphia, Larry Krasner, the recently elected Philadelphia district attorney, also has announced the creation of a new top position in his office that is solely dedicated to protecting the “rights” of illegal immigrants.
During his campaign for DA, which was funded in large part by a huge donation from leftist billionaire George Soros, Larry Krasner vowed to fight what he deemed to be President Trump’s anti-immigration agenda. He promised to maintain Philadelphia’s status as a “sanctuary city” and protect the Fourth Amendment rights of all residents, regardless of legal status. He stated that he would cooperate with federal authorities only to the degree required by law.
This stance puts the new DA in lockstep with Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, another liberal Democrat. Mayor Kenney has declared Philadelphia a “welcoming city,” much preferring this term to “sanctuary city.”
Mr. Krasner also opposes the access of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to the PARS database, a city police database used to identify illegal immigrants.
When he announced Caleb U. Arnold, an immigration attorney, as the newly created position of immigration counsel in the prosecutor’s office, Mr. Krasner told reporters that the counsel will aid immigrants travel through the criminal justice system without facing “disproportionate consequences” like deportation. The written announcement also made a point of advising reporters that the new immigration counsel uses gender-neutral pronouns
The new counsel, he said, will advise prosecutors on minimizing the impact of criminal convictions for immigrants, especially those facing low-level convictions like minor drug offenses. They’ll also help build relationships with the city’s immigrant communities.
Michael Meehan, the chairman of the Republican Party in Philadelphia, opposes the position and the appointee, noting that Caleb U. Arnold was a radical activist who was arrested at the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia while protesting the death penalty
“The layers of lawlessness here are unreal. You have a radical leftist activist, who has been previously arrested, hired to be sure that documented criminals aren’t further subjected to the federal laws governing their immigration status,” Mr. Meehan said. “It is enough to make your head spin. Krasner is setting a precedent for dangerous levels of relativism that further erodes law and order in a city subject to some of the highest crime rates in the country, in all crime categories.”
The immigration counsel appointment was announced only a few weeks after Mr. Krasner dismissed 30 prosecutors, some of whom who were in the middle of prosecuting criminal cases, including murder and other serious crimes. The mass firing of the active, experienced prosecutors held up court proceedings and delayed justice for the victims and their families.
Mr. Krasner, formally a civil rights attorney who sued the Philadelphia Police Department 75 times and has represented anti-police groups like ACT UP and Black Lives Matter pro-bono, was opposed vehemently by most Philadelphia police officers during the election.
“This guy wants to protect illegal immigrants who commit crimes and lock up cops who are just doing their jobs,” an angry Philly cop said to me during the election. “He cares more for illegal immigrants than legal citizens and crime victims. He’s more concerned with radical politics than putting the bad guys away.”
• Paul Davis is a writer who covers crime, espionage and terrorism.
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