Immigration Reform Rally to Proceed Despite Government Shutdown

Federal agencies, including the National Park Service, have been quite insistent that all access to national parks must be shut off due to the government shutdown.  As a consequence, the NPS and other land management agencies have erected barriers to prevent access to various parks, such as the WWII Memorial on the Mall.  The NPS and USFS have also forced the closure of facilities that are run by private concessionaires, even where the facilities are subject to minimal government oversight and do not require the expenditure of federal funds to operate (and have not been closed during prior government shutdowns, such as those in the 1990s).  But the shutdown won’t stop a major rally for immigration reform on the Mall today.  According to the Examiner, the NPS is allowing the rally because of the First Amendment.  FWIW, I see no problem with allowing the rally to proceed, but I also think that the erection of barriers in front of the WWII Memorial and the closure of independently run facilities were unnecessary.

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