Congress should follow these 3 reps
Published: April 14, 2008
I’ve read with interest the recent stories highlighting the efforts of Congressmen Eric Cantor, Thelma Drake and Rob Wittman to help curb the nation’s illegal immigration problem.
These three representatives have taken matters into their own hands while the rest of Congress has failed to take action. Instead of waiting around, hoping that Immigration Customs Enforcement will show up to take care of illegal aliens in their jails, local law enforcement would be able to check the citizenship status of inmates.
This is one small step in helping to get control of the immigration problem, but it is an important one. I urge the rest of Congress to get on board with them!!
Rich Goff
Culpeper
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Patriot we have been instructed by ICE that we don’t have authority/power to detain on illegal entry alone. Must develope pc as stated in previous post. We cannot arrest/detain on illegal entry alone. If we arrest or detain on that criteria we can be sued. We follow ICE procedures that we were provided. We don’t have power to arrest under 8 USC 1325. We were instructed that it is a CIVIL, not Criminal penalty. Take a look at it. I have a copy and it states so as I was provided a packet from ICE/DHS that I keep in the cruiser. ICE will confirm this. Do you understand it now? I am being serious, not sarcastic. PWC ADC is detaining even those who are not violent offenders because ICE did not follow MOU and issued detainers outside the scope of the original MOU. That therefore caused illegal alien inmate population to increase and stay in jail for up to five weeks. ICE is to blame for this. They violated the contract/MOU. Local governments and police don’t have the resources to deal with illegal immigration. We would rather get the violent drug dealers off the streets. Take a good look a crime in Culpeper. Who commits them? Legal citizens from Culpeper and surrounding areas. Who commits the robberies? Murders? Sex offenses against our children? Our job is to focus on them. If we arrest an illegal alien we contact ICE. But it’s not a primary function of local police to enforce illegal immigration or to look for illegal immigrants. Would you rather we divert personnel from other areas? You’d be the first to complain when you called the police and they did not respond quickly. Get my drift? You don’t understand the responsibilities of law enforcement Patriot. What next? Should local governments and law enforcement become tax collectors when the IRS doesn’t do their job? It makes sense. Please take the time to understand it.
Patriot 6:33 AM, first no one has ever suggested that we should sit & do nothing while ‘criminal illegal aliens terrorize our communities.’ All criminals be they citizen or not have always been & continue to be arrested & prosecuted. You are correct; violation of 8 USC 1325 ‘Improper entry by alien’ is a crime. And Lawman is correct that being in this country illegally is not a crime. It is all but impossible to prove that anyone who is here without proper documentation violated 8 USC 1325 unless they are caught in the act of violating it. The problem is not that the federal govt won’t prosecute non-criminals. Only accused criminals can be prosecuted. ICE is only interested in processing criminal aliens for deportation because their resources (budget, detention bed space, court judges, etc.) are limited. The problem in PWC is not that ‘no one figured that there would be so many aliens identified so rapidly.’ Rather the problem is that PWC is arresting & detaining so many non-criminal aliens. ICE told them up front that they were not interested in processing non-criminals but PWC didn’t listen. It doesn’t tell me that the criminal illegal problem is greater than thought but rather that our TC is a lot wiser than is PWC’s BOS.
So we are to sit and do nothing while these criminal illegal aliens are terrorizing our communtiies?
Lawman you’re wrong, illegaly entering the country is a crime 8 USC 1325. The problem is the US Attorney’s office won’t prosecute the alien unless he is a violent offender, career criminal or gang member.
You are right, in that, ICE doesn’t have the resources needed to do the job they are sworn to do, like most law enforcement agencies in the US.
The problem with PWADC, no one figured that there would be some many aliens identified so rapidly. What that tells me, is that the criminal illegal problem is greater than we thought. ICE and PWC are working out the problems, which weren’t all ICE’s.
I would rather do something than sit back complain and do nothing.
I can only imagine what would have happened had George and the boy’s said there just too many redcoats to fight and Congress won’t give me shoes, so we can’t do anything. Besides, the British have a right to be here>>>>>>>>
Nothing but political. If inmate is not in database ICE ain’t coming unless crime is violent. Illegal aliens are not even in the database unless they have had prior contact with immigration officials as ICE explained to our people. That simpley means that illegals here who crossed the border with no prior contact in our local jails won’t come back with a hit. And if people believe that ICE will come get them dream on. ICE is severely limited on personnel. Why can’t people see the truth. Determining citizenship status won’t deport illegal aliens. As instructed by ICE being in the country illegally is not a criminal offense and that we have no authority to detain them unless we have probable cause of a federal felony or have them on local or state charges. Rich I suggest you understand that ICE won’t come get who we have. Take a good look at PWC ADC. ICE can’t even follow the guidelines of their MOU with the PWC ADC. 200,000 a day plus overtime. Local taxpayers foot that bill. Get the picture?
So I take it you are a one issue voter. Nothing else matters. Cantor is a virtual Bush clone. If you think George Bush has been good for America then by all means vote in his right hand man Eric Cantor. This was a campaign ad, right?
Cantor is just making smoke to have us think he’s doing something worthwhile. Even if the police know an inmate’s real name I fail to see how enabling them to access the ICE citizenship database helps anything. Only ICE may make the citizenship determination. So what if an inmate is a non-citizen not in the FBI criminal database? Does it mean that ICE will pick up and process him/her for deportation? No. So what’s the point of local police trying to determine citizenship status? Curiosity? It’s costly work with neither purpose nor reward.
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