Reader comments
Readers' forum: A dangerous shift

You quote Napolitano as saying, "crossing our borders is not a crime, per se." Yet when I google that phrase, it shows up nowhere except in your letter. So if Napolitano ever said those exact words, no one in the news media covered it. Where did you get the quote from? Did it have a context? At any rate, it's true -- crossing the border, in and of itself, is not a crime. Thousands of people do it legally every day.

Good letter, its been going on during the Bush administration and has continued during the 'true dunce' administration.
You bring back memories of the two border gaurds, Ramos and Campion, who spent so much time behind bars, while Bush did nothing.
I don't know why the politicians continue to sell out our country for votes and power, but its darn un-American on the 4th of July.

Yep, how many times have we been apprised that what was said, was not what was meant. Of course you won't find it on the web, anything that 'stupid' would be removed to cover their 'behinds'. If you hear it, you've heard it. If you can't find it on the web, well don't be surprised. Biden is another one whose 'quotes' get lost on the web.

Excellent catch!

I suspect the DNews publishes these facts-free letters because
(A) they don't have a staff fact checker or
(B) this is the Opinion section, and who needs facts?

Wouldn't come out and commit political suicide, but she has been silent on her views.

Here is a comment as of June 5th:

Apparently, however, it would appear that waiting is what Secretary Napolitano has decided to do. Should this prove to be as bad as it gets, it will more likely be attributable to the extraordinary efforts of our health care providers and medical facilities, along with the CDC, and not due to the "we don't want to interrupt the cross border commerce" attitude of the individual who heads the department responsible for the security of our borders.

She basically doesn't have the smarts to make a decision. But then again, no one in Obama's administration is that smart to begin with.

It isn't a crime.

Also, Ramos and Campion shot an unarmed man who was running away from them. Some heroes...

1 - Napolitano did say, "...crossing the border is not a crime per se. It is civil." (Search the John King interview with Napolitano.)
2 - She also mentions that although they (read: the government) are going after illegal immigrants, they are focusing on those who hire illegal immigrants and those who traffic humans - because there are not enough prisons and courts and prosecutors to deal with it one immigrant at a time. She also mentions that it really is not a good thing to focus on immigration to the extent the other crimes - such as murder - are being ignored.
3 - Section 8, Title 1325 of the U.S. code states that illegal entry is punishable by a fine and/or up to 6 months in prison - because prison time is an option, it is a crime.
4 - This may be a "dangerous shift," but it is a shift that occurred quite some time ago - it is nothing new just because Napolitano said it.

@CB - the beauty (and ugliness) of the web is that nothing can ever truly be hidden, you just have to know where to look....

And if there was no oportunity for work in the US but plenty of jobs in Canada, this guy would have hopped the fence a long time ago, if he had any courage anyway.