April 4, 2009

Immigration act aids communities
April 4, 2009
The Baltimore Sun's editorial "No way to police immigration" (March 20) was factually incorrect.

As one of the co-authors of the legislation that created Section 287(g), I know that it was created to let state and local law enforcement officials help enforce all federal immigration laws and remove illegal immigrants from the streets. It was not our intent that the program would only be used to address "serious crime," as the editorial suggests.

And it works. The Frederick County sheriff told Congress that the 287(g) program helps his county. The chairman of the Prince William County, Va., Board of Supervisors testified that his county kept 111 criminal aliens from returning to the streets in just three months through the program.

The program is so successful that the annual number of jurisdictions participating rose from one in 2002 to 67 today.



Federal officials can't keep up with the demand. In fiscal year 2007, they received 69 new applications to participate, the vast majority of which were rejected because of limited funding.

Illegal immigration affects local communities - increasing crime, straining health and education systems and taking jobs from citizens and legal immigrants.

We should continue to support the law enforcement agencies that want to make our communities better and safer.
Rep. Lamar Smith
Washington


The writer is the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.


http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinio ... 5127.story