Mayor Cherelle Parker has a very loud voice, but not loud enough for some with very special interests.
In an editorial masquerading as a news story, the Inquirer reports, probably accurately, that “leaders of the city’s immigrant community” are concerned about their status because of deportation threats made by incoming President Donald J. Trump.
What the Inquirer meant to say was leaders of the illegal immigrant community were concerned, because legal immigrants, with very rare exceptions, don’t have anything to worry about.
There are an estimated 47,000 illegals in Philadelphia, and deporting them, after a judicial hearing, is entirely legal. And something that a majority of Americans favor. That is one reason it was such a powerful plank in Trump’s platform.
The advocates of “protecting” those here illegally, who want Parker to loudly reinstate Philadelphia’s status as a Sanctuary City, are actually advocates of Open Borders, meaning mass, unregulated immigration.
They almost never say they are for Open Borders, but it is obvious: If they would deport no one here without permission, that is Open Borders. It means if you get in, you stay in.
The Inquirer reported “her staff offered tepid answers to questions about her position on sanctuary policies.”
That was more than I got, which was no reply to emailed questions.
My questions were prompted by, and referenced, New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ request of the New York City Council to rewrite the city’s sanctuary policy, which he previously said would bankrupt the city. New York’s policy was enacted by Council. In Philadelphia, it is a mayoral executive order.
Parker’s position, as issued by mayoral flack Joe Grace (a former Daily News colleague) is that the 2016 executive order codifying the city’s sanctuary status “remains in place.” He did not respond to my email seeking information.
The Inquirer reported that Parker said she approved of the status while she was running for mayor.
But that’s not enough for the Open Borders crowd that wants her to go into Full Progressive Mode and bellow something Churchillian, like Philadelphia will fight Trump “on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”
The cockamamie governor of California, Gavin Newsom, has declared his whole state a sanctuary, and had anointed himself generalissimo of the Woke Army.
Bloated billionaire Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Trump would have “to come through me” to get at his people, presumably the illegals. Democrats nowadays have a thing for lawbreakers.
The Gold Cup for insanity goes to Denver Mayor Mike Johnson who promised 50,000 Denverites would amass to stop ICE, actually invoking the student uprising for democracy in Tiananmen Square. Johnson’s mouth works better than his memory. Tiananmen Square was a fiasco for the students.
Back in Philly, “We are concerned about how she’s not publicly supporting,” said Patty Torres, co-deputy director of Make the Road Pennsylvania, an Open Borders group.
The Inquirer story runs about 40 inches and, for a change, an opposing point of view is acknowledged. A big 5 inches, or 12.5%, which is 12.5% better than usual.
The Inquirer quoted a right-leaning think tank (no one is described as left-leaning) as saying Americans are moving toward a “law and order” approach, and “the sanctuary-city policy is broadly misguided and particularly as it relates to criminal offenders.”
The other 87.5% is all opinion from the Left, and history. The overall tone of the story is sympathy for the law-breakers, and disdain for the law-enforcers.
There is a brief acknowledgement, in regard to Parker’s reluctance to come out swinging, that Democrats generally are reeling from a heavy blow suffered by Trump’s victory — and gains among voters across the board.
His No. 2 issue was illegal immigration. As noted, a majority of Americans agree with mass deportation. (For the record, I don’t, and doubt Trump can exile them all during his one term.)
I don’t expect the Open Borders Juntos organization, as an example, to think strategically. All they want is the door swung wide open, despite the catastrophic impact mass immigration would have on America. I covered that topic in 2022. You can read it here if you like horror stories. We can’t absorb the millions who would come.
Sanctuary Cities now are a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Democratic Party.
Every past Democratic President, up until Joe Biden, has opposed them, and illegal immigration.
Motivated by an empty-headed sympathy, while a candidate, Biden declared an open invitation to immigrants, neglecting to mention we only welcome legal immigrants. Unless you live in a sanctuary city, of course.
Thanks to Biden, we got a tidal wave of illegals, which Trump used to surf into the Presidency.
If Democrats double down on illegal immigration, which a majority of Americans do not want, they will be the minority party for a generation.
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Joe Grace won't return your call? What's up with that?
Like other former journos, he left his ideas about free expression at the door of his PR office. I had complained about his inept staff in the past, and he interceded. He now has stopped. Maybe he doesn’t like my opinions. I feel relieved to ask for comment as a waste of time.
I am on record in these pages as being in favor of vastly increased legal immigration. Even 10X what we have now. But it has to be legal. No nation anywhere has open borders. I love immigration but not open borders.
I agree with Stu that the open borders sanctuary city crowd played a role in Trump’s reelection.
Expand legal immigration, yes. TENFOLD? No. That would be 10 million. We can’t absorb that many annually.
Call Governor Newsome's bluff and toss him into prison. That will be a wake-up call to those who would protect criminals at the country's expense.
You are an idiot, Vince. This isn't Russia.
Why not try and cool it with the name calling? Grow up, why don't you, for a change? After all, you are an adult, I presume.
Why have you never asked your buddy Danny to stop they name calling? You are a hypocrite!
Thanks Freeze. Stu never corrects these morons. Last post they were screaming to throw Nancy Pelosi in prison. and Hmmmm..... wasn't the 2016 Republican Convention rife with chants of "Lock Her Up". For the record, Hilary Clinton has never been accused of a crime. Yet the "law and order" crowd voted for a Convicted Felon, a man who settled hundreds of lawsuits against him for ripping people off...(and also accused of several other crimes which are dropped because he is hiding behind the Presidency. ) Not just voted for him, in many cases WORSHIP him. Go figure.
To the contrary Stu OFTEN corrects wrong info, left AND right. Check past responses to Daniel, for one.
You are strong only in the facts you like.
Newsome said he will violate federal immigration law. When you break the law, you go to jail. Or should, anyway.
And the name calling is childish. Why not refute my point with a counterpoint?
Does anyone ever think about the fact that those 47,000 illegals live somewhere? If they are taking up houses and apartments, they have reduced Philly’s housing supply by 47,000 units. That drives up prices for the remaining available units. No wonder it’s next to impossible to afford a basic one-bedroom apartment.
It’s the fact that illegals have overwhelmed the system, bypassing any sort of reasonable vetting process. It’s similar to making a béarnaise sauce. The butter must be added slowly, drop by drop. Dump it all in at once and the sauce will clump and curdle.
Excellent and well made point. But the woke crowd denies this openly and persistently.
I work with plenty of illegals and yes they are great workers which I attribute to the Aesops fable of the dog and rabbit.No one seems to be scared or cowering in the slightest.Like fascism and end of democracy and handmaids tale hysteria I believe this is all vastly overblown unless you are a gangbanger.
The issue is not if they are good workers. The issue is LEGALITY.
my point is that that they are not as fearful as the media would have you believe.They ain’t goin anywhere.
Well, the ones in sanctuary cities will be the last to leave, for sure. IF they are denied employment AND no government support, they will self deport.
Thank you for calling the “immigration leaders” by their accurate title: “illegal immigration leaders.” The Inquirer and DN had an actual immigration lawyer as a contributing columnist for 18 years. Her name was Christine Flowers. Not o c’e in all that time was she-me-asked for her expert opinion on the issue. I tend to be slightly left of center when it comes to immigration policy but I always opposed what is called “sanctuary city” status both because of the bad optics and the fact that it didn’t really assist the immigrant community. It was simply Kenney’s way of pacifying the woke crew. It also engendered a lot of animosity from legal immigrants and citizens towards immigrant communities. The fact that it was unecessary was also never mentioned: we have something called a U Visa which already protects immigrant victims of crime. The idea behind sanctuary cities is to encourage illegal immigrant victims of crime not to be afraid of cooperating with police out of fear of deportation. U visas already does that. It’s codified federal law. So sanctuary cities are a pretext.
I’m really ashamed of how the Inquirer and by extension DN have cowtowed to so-called immigrant leaders who, let’s be honest, are not concerned about solving the problem. They simply want to either maintain the status quo or avoid dealing with the negative impact of sanctuary cities in immigrant communities.
I always appreciated your clear-eyed reporting on this Stu. I am far from a close the border restrictionist and I acknowledge the existence of xenophobia in much of what MAGA has floated as legitimate immigration reform, however, the left is lying about Republican priorities in order to stoke needless fear in the communities I work with. Between 2016 and 2020, there were no mass deportations. I protested at the airport against the Muslim Ban. DACA, though restricted, was not eliminated. And while the stay in Mexico policy was a fail, it was a flawed attempt to try and stop border chaos
The one thing that was truly egregious was the child separation policy. If Trump tries that again, he should be impeached. Again 😉
And I have a hunch that Cherelle Parker agrees with everything I’ve written here. Let me know if Joe Grace ever gets back to you…
You are an immigration law and probably agree with much of Inquirer policy, but (to them) you were the “wrong” kind of immigration lawyer.
Honestly. I always had a hard time getting STRAIGHT answers out of ANYONE, including ICE.
Many academics were afraid to comment….
Oh Stu, no. I do not agree with much of their policy which is to completely demolish the demarcation line between legal and illegal. They do not believe there is such a thing as reasonable limitations. I dealt with that for many years. But I realize, now, that the Inquirer is only speaking to the readers like some commenters hers who hate the right and conflate open borders with compassion and human rights. They are deeply misguided
I stand corrected.
Joe Grace being quoted saying Jim Kenney's 2016, codifying sanctuary cities "remains in place." So far. The fact he didn't reply to your email may be a good thing, his opinion may not reflect Cherelle Parker's. Pro illegal alien org, "Make the Road" is crying that Mayor Parker hasn't publicly come out to "protect immigrant families". I think she's open to remove sanctuary city status but it won't be easy. City Council and Let'em Loose Larry KKKrasner will flight her, kicking and screaming.
Parker ran as “law and order.” The jury is out re: her and sanctuary city.
Send those ILLEGAL aliens back to there country as soon as possible. Most democrats voted for Trump for this reason. 47,000 immigrants in Philadelphia need to be checked out and if they illegal they need to be sent home. I know New York's Mayor said Illegal immigrants have put a serious financial strain on the city and city council needs to rewrite the sanctuary city bill. Governor Newsom should be put in jail if he stands in the way of the president's order. I'm sure President Trump will do the job that he was elected to do.
An accurate well researched article. Also completely void of the non-measurables. The HATE stirred up by Trump and his cronies. Blaming the illegals for EVERYTHING. Check out Sara's tirate about the housing crisis being caused by illegals. (I think she may be the person who became a born again right winger by listing to talk radio, not known for their facts.) Ugly, LIES about them bringing crime and disease, and eating cats and dogs. You say legal immigrants have nothing to worry about? Like the Haitians? Like those living in mixed status households? Hate and fear of "The other" has been stirred up and cultivated. "A Massachusetts man says he and his family were targeted with racist harassment by a woman at Los Angeles International Airport because they're Indian. " It's Trump's dictator playbook, and it works. He knew it as soon as the "Birther" rumor about Obama took hold. Find a vulnerable population and demonize them. Bond over Promise protection from that enemy. It's not and never was about "the law".
I thank God that I don’t have to go through each day consumed by such anger and unreasoning hatred toward those who simply have a different opinion. That kind of intense hostility isn’t good for your health, you know.
Laughable.
Yes, I said legal immigrants have nothing to worry about WITH RARE EXCEPTIONS, so if you quote me, quite me CORRECTLY.
I had Haitians in mind. Haitians are about 200,000 of the estimated 12 MILLION illegals. Also some Venezuelans, Hondurans, Ukrainians, etc.
As to the “nonmeasureables,” since they can’t be measured, let’s drop that.
Speaking for MYSELF, I am very much FOR legal immigration, and opposing ILLEGAL migration is not hate, it is self preservation and a RESPECT for law.
That's YOU, Stu. Your point may be respect for Law. But that is NOT what put Trump in office, as you describe. I don't think YOU were in the throngs of blood-thirsty MAGA'S screaming for mass deportation. I stand by my point that they are NOT motivated with respect for Law. They are motivated by hatred, lies, and fear, and ignorance. If they cared about "Law" they would NOT have voted for Trump, a convicted felon. They would NOT be championing the pardon of the J-6 rioters.
Quite a mixed bag. You seem to forget he was President for 4 years and none of your worst fears were realized.
And now you will say, “no guard rails this time!”
And I will say, we will see.
Amidst the hundreds of J 6 rioters, a few may qualify for pardon. Most don’t.
Trump states publically he wants to end "Birthright citizenship", which has been LEGAL since 1868......"The 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868, states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” ..... And who exactly will determine if a newborn is "Legal". Random hospital staff? Or will Trump have ICE patrolling hospitals? ....Confirms my opinion.... It's not about the LAW. It's about Hatred.
He is a moron. The XIV can’t be overridden by executive order. Who will determine if a newborn is “legal?” You answered your own question — the Constitution. Trump also said the U.S. is the only country that has it. Actually, about three dozen do. You imagine ICE agents nosing around hospital birth wards. That is full-blown hysteria. And I would say the same to a man, so skip the sexist crap.
Ahem-
And not one person has mentioned the notion about health vetting of those entering our country.
Briefly some common sense questions for those who want to be the only country in the world with an open border:
- many Americans lost jobs if they didn’t get the jab—- anyone checking the millions of those coming into this country illegally?
- if I go to certain other countries, I may have to get vaccinated against any number of diseases. Do we know what diseases are being brought here?
Excellent point. At the very moment service members were being kicked out for refusing vax, NOT ONE MIGRANT was checked for disease or vaccinated.