Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones is criticizing President Barack Obama for what he calls his inaction on immigration reform.
In a YouTube video released online one day before Obama's planned address to the nation outlining his plan to grant legal status for millions of illegal immigrants, Jones says the president is responsible for the illegal immigration problem.
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Jones says in the video that both Democrats and Republicans in Congress also bear responsibility, but that Obama deserves the most criticism.
"Only you are singularly responsible for the hands-off policy that exists in Homeland Security and its subsidiaries," he says in the video.
Speaking of Immigration Customs Enforcement agents who recently were given raises to fight flagging morale, Jones said, "Mr. President … they don’t need a raise to improve morale in that organization. They need to be able to be allowed to do their jobs."
Jones says he is not anti-immigrant, but wants to see the issue addressed properly.
"I wanted this to not be a political issue … In fact, I blamed Congress for plenty,"
Jones told Sacramento's Fox 40.
He said he took on the issue because he promised the widow of Deputy Danny Oliver he would do so. Oliver was one of two law enforcement officer killed by Luis Enrique Monroy Bracamonte in October.
The suspect was an illegal immigrant from Mexico who had been deported more than once and re-entered the country.
Obama's plan to defer deportations to some of the 12 million illegal immigrants in the country does not address the problem of violent criminals crossing an unsecure border, he said. And it shows favoritism to one group of illegal immigrants over another.
"This deferred action is deferring the crisis. It does nothing to make America safe," Jones said Thursday on Fox News Channel's
"Your World with Neil Cavuto."
The video has received more than 27,000 views on YouTube, and Jones said he encourages more people to join him.
"I'm one person's voice," he told host Neil Cavuto. "If I'm joined by many, many other voices, 10 becomes 100 becomes 10,000 becomes 50,000 or 100,000. Then it becomes a loud voice — one that I feel shouldn't or can't be ignored."
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