Philadopoly's criminal conspiracy

WHAT NOW - "stay out of jail free" cards for the undocumented?

It's not Monopoly, it's Philadopoly.

While the feds will be cracking down on so-called Sanctuary Cities, Philadelphia will be pondering a gift card for our illegal "residents."

Testifying recently before a House appropriations subcommittee chaired by Texas Rep. John Culberson, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the Bureau of Prisons is now required to offer Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody of inmates facing deportation. Previously, convicts were turned over to local authorities, some of which, like Philadelphia, don't cooperate with ICE - and release them.

That verges on criminal conspiracy because federal law requires cooperation.

The policy change comes less than a year after 32-year-old Kate Steinle was shot to death in San Francisco by an undocumented man with a stolen gun. A felon, Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, was free to wander the City by the Bay because local police ignored a request from the feds to turn him over for deportation. Just like Philadelphia.

Lopez-Sanchez had been deported five times before and said he came to San Francisco because it was a Sanctuary City that would shield him from deportation. It did and Steinle died.

I made repeated and unsuccessful requests to the Department of Justice for information about the prison policy and another mentioned by Lynch - the possible loss of federal funds to Sanctuary Cities, such as Philadelphia. (Cracking down on Sanctuary Cities is supported by 62 percent of likely U.S. voters, according to a Gallup poll last summer.)

I question how aggressively Lynch actually will go after Sanctuary Cities, but she is supposed to file reports with the House and Culberson, a Republican, won't look kindly on a tap dance. And his committee can mess with DOJ's funding.

Here in Philadelphia, Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez pulled a fluffy bunny out of her bonnet by introducing an ordinance for the city to issue photo identification cards.

In backing Sanchez's bill, Mayor Kenney left no doubt about who this is intended to benefit.

"There is no question that something must be done to help bring Philadelphians out of the shadows," he said, using code words for the undocumented.

They may be "Philadelphians," but they are not Americans, and in Philadopoly, there are no consequences, only rewards, for bad behavior.

Kenney's policy of laying out the welcome mat for those here illegally will attract more of them. Our Sanctuary City status will lure convicted criminals, as did San Francisco's. Protecting lawbreakers is not only insane, it is criminal.

Illegal residents are good for the economy, Kenney declares. It's all about the Benjamins? Drug dealers buy penthouses, Escalades, diamonds, gold, Veuve Clicquot and Dolce & Gabbana. Shall we encourage them?

In his budget address, Kenney said the city will crack down on tax cheats. Where does he get the gall to tell them to obey the law when the city doesn't?

He seems to believe there's no way for immigrants to get here legally. There is, but it requires filling out forms and waiting your turn. That's too much bother for those who bust our borders, overstay their visas and then scream they are being persecuted.

They put their selfish wants above U.S. law. Yes, selfish. Me first, screw you.

Now Sanchez, and cosponsors Helen Gym and Curtis Jones Jr., with the blessing of our lawbreaking mayor, want to make it easier for those here illegally to soak up city services to which they are not rightfully entitled.

If you're a Mummer showing some bad taste in a parade you get sensitivity training, but if you're here illegally, you get a big wet kiss and a seat on the sofa.

In announcing the legislation, Sanchez said a municipal photo ID "will unlock doors for hundreds of thousands of city residents who presently lack access" to "necessary means to opening a bank account, cashing a check, signing a lease, seeing a doctor at a hospital" and so on.

Who are these "hundreds of thousands" of people? Where did that number come from?

That's what I wanted to ask Sanchez, who couldn't find time to talk to me. I know it didn't come from the Census Bureau, because I asked.

Here are a few more questions: Date of birth is required for the ID, but not gender. Why? Has gender become taboo?

If we don't ask about gender, why require a picture? Why not an Etch-a-Sketch portrait?

Why is immigration status excluded?

Aaah, that's easy. The carte blanche is designed for the undocumented. Yes, citizens can get it, too, but how many of them don't have ID? Is it Sanchez's "hundreds of thousands"?

The most serious question: Can it be used as ID to register to vote? Sanchez's bill says all city agencies must honor it. Does that mean a noncitizen with a Philadopoly municipal ID gets to vote? Will anyone on City Council ask these questions?

I have an answer about driver's licenses. The state, not being as legally promiscuous as Philly, won't accept the city-issued ID to get a driver's license. So the undocumented will continue breaking that law, too, driving without a license and without insurance to get to the jobs that they are not supposed to be holding.

Interestingly, to get the proposed Philly ID, applicants must produce ID, ranging from passports and other items citizens have, to consular documents, which are handed out by some foreign governments like gumdrops. All legal immigrants have "green cards," valid ID that can be used to get a driver's license.

Anyone with the IQ of a chicken can see the municipal ID sham is an underhanded way to provide a "document," courtesy of the Philadopoly, to those who are "undocumented." In doing so, the city joins into what amounts to a criminal conspiracy to camouflage those here illegally.

Cradling them, no matter what humanitarian impulses drive it, destroys respect for the law. Sanctuary Cities do even worse - they shield convicted felons and put American citizens at risk.

Sooner or later, some Philadelphian will die at the hands of a foreign felon who should have been deported, as in San Francisco and elsewhere. The victim's blood will be on the hands of Kenney, Sanchez and other coddlers of foreign felons who thumb their noses at U.S. law.

City Council should drive this sham ID scheme into the shadows as it did in 2013, the last time it was tried.

stubyko@phillynews.com

215-854-5977 @StuBykofsky

Blog: ph.ly/Byko

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