Can't wait for Lou Dobbs to weigh in on this

Much thanks to our immigration department for keeping us all safe from Manuel Bartsch:

GILBOA, Ohio (AP) -- High school student Manuel Bartsch is facing deportation to his native Germany after discovering that his American step-grandfather never completed paperwork eight years ago to make his stay legal in the United States.

Bartsch, who has been jailed since Christmas, is set to appear at a bail hearing Wednesday in a Cleveland federal court. An immigration judge last week stopped him from being deported until he can have a hearing before an immigration court.[snip]
Ed Kolhoff, a former deputy sheriff, said the law is not always black and white and that the government should be more compassionate. "Putting him in jail is no way to correct what I consider a clerical error," he said Tuesday.

Bartsch's step-grandfather -- a U.S. citizen who was his guardian -- returned to Germany in the summer, leaving Bartsch behind so he could graduate. Bartsch discovered the incomplete paperwork while he was searching for documents to prove his citizenship.

When he couldn't find any, he contacted U.S. immigration authorities hoping the office would have records. Instead, he was detained over Christmas weekend and has been jailed since.

What a disgraceful kabuki dance our immigration policy is. If we really wanted to crack down on the numbers of illegals in this country, all we would have to do is prevent employers in the construction, meatpacking and restaurant industry from using workers with fake Social Security numbers. But we do not do this because we know we'll be shutting down businesses. How much easier it is to make a show of patrolling the borders and throwing kids like Manuel Bartsch in jail instead.