The man you see (indistinctly) in the photo above is Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who spoke before a packed crowd at the Women’s National Republican Club last night on a variety of subjects. Although the invitation I responded to billed the evening as a discussion of sanctuary cities, Vance did not address the topic until prompted by an audience member during the question and answer session, approximately 40 minutes or so after he began speaking.

I can’t say I was surprised by his reluctance to address the subject, despite its topicality. The New York County District Attorney’s office is charged with the prosecution of those who violate the laws of New York State. Those who violate federal law are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York-a point Mr. Vance emphasized when I pressed him on a recent decision to release a violent, self-declared member of MS-13 who was in this country illegally from prison.

That said, his office does occasionally come into contact with illegal immigrants through their encounters with the New York Police Department, which he implicitly acknowledged when he spoke of protecting the status of those who had been victims of crimes while residing in this country illegally. Putting aside the circular logic of this argument, i.e. aren’t predatory criminal aliens, such as the illegal day laborer who murdered acclaimed actress and director Adrienne Shelly, protected under the same umbrella sheltering domestic abuse victims, there is another objection to be raised. Namely, there is already a federal program, known as the U Visa, which ostensibly protects these individuals.

The idea that New York City needs to codify policy which directly conflicts with federal law in order to protect the safety of those in this country illegally is the height of absurdity. To the contrary, these directives actually imperil the lives and safety of those they ostensibly seek to protect-as well as the lives of American citizens-as those criminal aliens who abuse and terrorize their partners and children are given blanket immunity for crimes which would otherwise place them in the deportation pipeline and out of the reach of those whose lives they have destroyed. In fact, after Mr. Vance’s talk had concluded, a (legal) immigrant shared a personal anecdote with me about a hairdresser whose husband had attempted to suffocate her to death, but was allowed to remain in this country-illegally, naturally-even after being brought to the attention of the relevant authorities.

It should be said in Mr. Vance’s defense that he stated categorically that illegal aliens who had committed violent crimes should be deported, which is a far cry from Mayor De Blasio’s stance. However, it’s worth noting that the Manhattan DA is a political post, which is dependent upon the will of the voters, which in this case happened to be a group of New York Republicans. Just as his avowal of support for stop and frisk might have been downplayed before more progressive venues, it’s possible that he might have temporized even more on this subject if speaking to a group like the National Council of La Raza, or the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus.

Overall, the audience was surprisingly receptive to DA Vance’s message, which in retrospect probably shouldn’t have been that surprising. The Republican Party of New York City, but particularly the desiccated husk of a party which still exists in Manhattan, is run primarily by the Rockefeller and Lindsay Republicans who once exercised real power in this city and state. Adele Malpass, who delivered some introductory remarks before Cyrus Vance stepped up to the podium, praised the District Attorney’s efforts to kill a bill which would have prevented the arrest of innocent New Yorkers carrying gravity knives. I’m sure the GOP mainstay who asked him later in the evening what he was doing to crack down on gun dealers appreciated this bold stance against individual rights, but I was left rather unimpressed.

For what it’s worth, I thought the event was worthwhile, despite my many disagreements with Mr. Vance, including his apparent belief that compulsory voting, along the lines of Australia, could serve as a civic inducement. Having a public official willing to submit himself to cross-examination, however circumscribed, by the public is increasingly rare and worthy of praise. Hopefully, the officials responsible for some of the problems we encounter in this city on a daily basis will embrace this willingness to engage the public, but I won’t be holding my breath.

Although this election cycle has been extremely entertaining-at least, for those of us with a Menckenian distaste for popular democracy-it has also been disturbing in a number of ways. The prospect of electing a politician facing down her second indictment in as many decades-and make no mistake, despite her manifold flaws as a candidate and individual she is the presumptive POTUS at this point-is deeply troubling. However, even more disconcerting is the widespread public indifference to the activist left’s decision to completely decouple itself from reality, to the point of summoning law enforcement because of its displeasure with chalkings expressing support for a specific presidential candidate. 

For what it’s worth, I have difficulty believing that these poor naifs-or the bolder critics who’ve chosen the route of attempted assault-would be more amenable to a less conspicuously vulgar, or significantly more articulate, Republican candidate. In fact, it’s worth remembering the campaign of ostracism experienced by two of Ted Cruz’s donors for defying the prevailing political wisdom within the gay community. The truth is that the protestors you see disrupting rallies-including those of Bernie Sanders-are an accurate, if not complete, representation of the Democratic left within this country in the year 2016. 

Our good friend Pamela Hall has a small sampling of their works on her site, The Silent Majority No More,which I would urge you all to check out, if only to get a sense of what to expect this summer.

While Europe deals with the consequences of a Middle Eastern invasion brought on by the terrible decisions of its ostensible leaders, the United States continues to see an influx of illegal immigrants from Central America. Despite the Obama administration’s assertions that the flow of unaccompanied minors has abated, OTMs continue to pore across the border, according to newly released Border Patrol statistics.

Of course, once they are here they will benefit from the free legal advice of radical open borders advocacy groups-mostly funded through the expropriation of wealth from American citizens-who excel at coaching their new charges on how to scam the American government. Judicial Watch has a startling report on this practice in their Corruption Chronicles, which I highly recommend reading, if only to see how much this administration has eviscerated immigration enforcement on the federal level.

Naturally, this imposed chaos is accompanied by the President’s willful disregard for separation of powers, reflected in a series of actions-detailed here-which try to enact by executive fiat what could not be done through the proper legislative channels. The scope of this presidency’s abuse of power is broad, but in no arena is it as flagrant is in the realm of immigration law.  January 20, 2017 can’t come soon enough, as far as I’m concerned.

With the horrific ritual slaughter of yet another American journalist, it’s become clear that the Islamic State, after briefly pursuing the hearts and minds strategy, has reverted to form. Whether we call them ISIL, ISIS, Al Qaeda in Iraq, or the Combatant Vanguard, the essence of this group of sociopaths remains the same, i.e. a nullification of civilization. Which is why preventing any of these death cultists from entering-or returning to-the United States is of the utmost urgency. 

Of course, our government has shown no inclination to limit our exposure to future Islamic terror plots. To the contrary, it has repeatedly invited thousands of refugees from states which have served as assembly lines for ISIS, Hezbollah, and al-Shabaab jihadists to resettle inside of our country. To add insult to injury, the Department of Homeland Security has absolutely no clue where 6,000 foreign students who have overstayed their visas are at this moment. We can only hope they aren’t pursuing the same path as one of the more notorious foreign students to come to our shores.

Whether or not the battalions of the Islamic State have the capability of enacting a 9/11-style terrorist assault on this country remains to be seen. However, our immigration control system is the least of their worries, as the most recent terror alert makes abundantly clear. Kudos to Judicial Watch for bringing to light the unmitigated failure of this administration to protect the lives of American citizens. The fact that the President and his allies are more concerned about placating the ethnic grievance industry-and gleaning the votes it represents-than ensuring America’s security tells you all you need to know about this administration’s misplaced priorities.