ICE Agents need more petition signers to fight amnesty by Drake

THIS ISSUE: As 2-year executive amnesty begins, immigration agents step up opposition to being barred from enforcing the law -- WE HAVE TO HELP THEM

I sent out a late Wednesday night alert about the ICE agents' union asking the public to sign its protest petition. (Most of you haven't signed it yet. Please go there now at http://petitions.iceunion.org/petitions.)

The petition against the Administration's nullification of immigration laws (that includes the mass 2-year amnesties that began being handed out Wednesday) is toughly worded. But ICE union officials have now come out with even stronger words against their federal bosses who won't allow them to do their job of enforcing laws that Congress passes.

"ICE agents are now under orders to ignore the law as well as threats to public safety and fraud,"the union leaders say in a new press release about their members who work for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) section of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

"Those officers who refuse to follow the Administration's unlawful orders by making arrests will be disciplined and lose their jobs, as well as the ability to support their families," the union statement says.. "The National ICE Council representing approximately 7,200 ICE Agents, Officers and employees were the first to sign the petition on behalf of those that they represent in hopes that through public support ICE, DHS and the Administration can be convinced to take a more responsible approach to law enforcement and cease their collective efforts to devastate and demoralize federal law enforcement officers and their families."

While ICE agents have been ordered to stand aside, we have witnessed this week a steady stream of images of tens of thousands of illegal aliens lined up in public to sign up for work permits to compete in the legal job market against the millions of unemployed young Americans. Estimates are that 1.7 million illegal aliens could get the reward of these work permits even though Congress has three times voted down bills to give out these work permits.

"Morale is in the toilet right now," according to Chris Crane, president of the National ICE Council. "Most of the guys out in the field are just in an uproar."

The ICE agents feel the only way they may be able to survive as a legitimate enforcement entity to protect all of us from another mass wave of illegal immigration is to show the Administration that the public stands with the agents -- and against the anti-security policies of the Department of Homeland Security. That's why it is so urgent that you sign the petition now and circulate it far and wide. The agents are extremely pleased to have the 30,000 signatures since Wednesday, but they need hundreds of thousands of signatures (at least) if they are going to have any real protection in their challenge against the Administration.

The union officers say ICE Agents and Officers nationwide "are now under threat of disciplinary action, up to and including the loss of their jobs and retirements, simply for attempting to enforce federal laws."

Let's do all we can to help our nation's immigration enforcement officers.

ROY BECK

FRI, AUG 17th