Not much about the self-imposed insanity of the sequester makes sense, so it’s good to see something that does. “ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] officials have said they released a few hundred people in anticipation of the budget cuts set to hit on Friday,” CQ reported on Thursday. “The people released were low-priority detainees and are still being monitored by immigration authorities, they said.”
Of course, congressional Republicans opposed to immigration reform reacted with their usual hyperbole, charging that this release of “criminal aliens” was “putting the safety of the public at risk.” This is nonsense. If enforcement cuts are required under the sequester, as they are and should be, this is exactly the kind of saving that makes sense.
President Obama dedicated significant attention to immigration reform in his State of the Union address last night. To set the tone, he introduced the issue by tying it to the economy:
Presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney sparred over immigration policy in their televised debate on Tuesday night, the second of three debates. In a testy exchange, the candidates touched on each of the three pillars of comprehensive immigration reform: enforcement, visas, and the undocumented. While Romney and Obama may disagree on details, both said they would seek major revisions to federal law in the next Congress.
Friday, June 15, was an exciting day. After years of advocacy on the part of individuals and organizations concerned about the plight of undocumented students, President Obama held a Rose Garden ceremony to 
