Making Everybody a Criminal

Careful to whom you say hello on the street. If you accidentally smile at someone who just happens to be an illegal immigrant, the feds will throw your mex-loving ass in jail.

Although it is not illegal to rent an apartment to illegal aliens, the Department of Intimidating and Criminalizing Everybody charged two Lexington, Kentucky, landlords with "harboring illegal aliens."

As Ralph Long points out, the illogic of this case would force hot dog vendors to demand ID from every customer.

If you can be prosecuted for renting to undocumented immigrants, can you be prosecuted for selling them a car? A car would make it easier to transport illegal immigrants. So it sounds like the car dealers should also be worried.

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Yes, the Haddens probably knew what they were doing was skirting the law. But their prosecution is an example of selective prosecution aimed at intimidating the public; the Feds could care less about the Haddens.

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The bottom line here is this case is about fear, threat and intimidation.

This is the targeted intimidation of the Hispanic community and of anyone that does business with that group.

This case is about demeaning of a group of people seeking a better life by modern day Know Nothings.

This is about a Congress and a President that can’t lead and is unwilling to deal in practical way with a real issue facing this country.

This case is not about the Haddens.

The Bush Interregnum has been one long demand for civil disobedience, but this one skates awfully close to an attack on small business people. The ICE may yet learn it's not smart to fuck with the Chamber of Commerce.

Cross-posted at BlueGrassRoots.