Let Local Police Combat Illegal Immigration: Why More States and Municipalities Should Enact 287(g) Programs
The hubris of illegal aliens and their enablers is shocking. A service called PaseLaVoz (spread the word) lets illegal immigrants know about police checkpoints – so they can avoid them.When illegal aliens are afraid of the local police, something is going on. Because many illegals drive without licenses in 38 states, the police can effectively identify them and turn them over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation.Why do open borders advocates argue against having local and state law enforcement get into the immigration game? With no insurance, these drivers are a menace that must be stopped before more American citizens die.The 287(g) program, which promotes cooperation between local officials and federal immigration agents, has been neutered by the Obama administration, just another example of a congressionally mandated program that is being ignored or eviscerated. This policy is effective and should be encouraged. Slowly but surely, we can identify illegal immigrants who commit crimes and remove them.In Hudson County, New Jersey, which has a robust 287(g) program in the county jail, open borders activists claim that the county has no “business being in the immigration enforcement business.” Why not? Across this land, local and county law enforcement officers are filling the vacuum created by the pullback of federal agencies that refuse to follow the law. Along the border, the only thing standing in the way of the cartels and gangs are county sheriffs.One New Jersey activist spouts some pretty inane statements: “the county should be looking after the public welfare of its citizens,” he said. Indeed, legal citizens, which is exactly what they are doing at the jail.The program “sends fear into our immigrant communities,” he said. If they’re legal, they have nothing to worry about. If not, then they should be afraid.Removing criminal illegal aliens supports the public interest, but this activist attempts to engender sympathy for those who commit non-violent crimes. Illegally crossing the border is a deportable offense, so why tolerate more crimes perpetrated by illegal aliens?He also whines that the program offers no leniency regarding the number of years someone has been in the country or the fact that a citizen may depend on him or her. But individuals make choices that should have consequences. Illegal aliens who have an anchor baby know full well there could be a knock on the door at any time.Getting pinched by the police is a big fear of illegal aliens, as it should be. “It’s a daily nightmare for all of us here who are trying to survive,” said one immigrant. Obviously, the police can be an effective tool in the battle against illegal immigration.Another illegal said that PaseLaVoz is “a tool to fight back.” This confrontational viewpoint toward a system that harbors and employs him proves that illegal immigration is a drain on society and we need to use every tool possible, including 287 (g), to fight it.