Thread: State police reject immigration proposal

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ ... un17.story

State police reject immigration proposal

By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN
Associated Press Writer

June 17, 2005, 3:13 PM EDT

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Connecticut's public safety commissioner has rejected a request to deputize state police as federal immigration agents, saying the program would not be effective because the United States lacks a meaningful deportation process for most illegal immigrants.

A growing number of state and local agencies around the country have been considering allowing police to enforce immigration laws. Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton sought a program in Connecticut, saying his city has been overwhelmed by illegal immigration in recent years.

But Public Safety Commissioner Leonard Boyle said such initiatives do not appear to have been worth the effort in the few states where they have been tried.

Those found to be in the country illegally are rarely deported unless they have been convicted of felonies, he said.

"In short, given the extensive amount of training necessary to deputize state officers and the absence of any meaningful deportation process for illegal aliens who have not committed felony offenses, deputization would not seem to be a wise use of state resources," Boyle wrote in a letter released Friday.

Boyle said non-felons are typically presented before immigration judges and released back into the community.

"Actual deportation, if it ever occurs, only follows a lengthy adjudication and appeals process, which commonly takes years," Boyle wrote.

State police are stepping up training of troopers to spot human smugglers and traffickers of illegal aliens, he said. A task force is looking into providing greater authority to police to prosecute such crimes, he said.

Using local authorities to enforce immigration law has been allowed since 1996, when it was included as part of a broad national immigration bill. The law wasn't used until 2002, when 35 state and local officers in Florida completed training and were authorized to take action on immigration violations in domestic terrorism investigations.

Alabama trained its first 21 officers in 2003 to deal with what officials called a lack of attention by the federal government to illegal immigration.

State troopers in Alabama have used the expanded enforcement powers to arrest more than 100 people, including a Mexican man captured during a traffic stop who was wanted for murder in his country, officials have said.

A program is also in the works in Southern California, where it would reverse a long-standing policy of separating immigration status from local criminal investigations.

Immigrant rights groups insist the move will discourage people from reporting domestic violence or other crimes for fear of deportation and could lead to racial profiling and other abuses.

In Danbury, Boughton's proposal sparked fears of a citywide sweep for illegal immigrants. Wilson Hernandez, an immigrant leader, welcomed Boyle's decision.

"I hope Mayor Boughton will start working to heal the wounds that this proposal caused in the community," Hernandez said.

Boughton said he did not intend to offend anyone, but was trying to address concerns stemming from illegal immigration, including overcrowded housing and unlicensed drivers. He said was happy that Boyle promised additional resources to help Danbury deal with the issue and wrote letters to Connecticut's Congressional delegation urging federal immigration reform.

U.S. Census figures estimate there are 39,000 undocumented immigrants living in Connecticut, while a recent report by the Pew Hispanic Center estimated 55,000 to 85,000, according to Boughton. Danbury, which has an official population of 77,000, has 10,000 to 15,000 illegal immigrants, the mayor said.

"Posterity -- you will never know how much it has
cost my generation to preserve your freedom.
I hope you will make good use of it."
-- John Quincy Adams

Boyle is a fool. What kind of State Troopers does he have that need "training" to become deputized federal agents to ask for "papers" and then "cuff" em and take 'em to a detention facility?

Connecticut is a wery well to do state....I'm sure they have the resources to "house" them until ICE picks them up and deports them.

When you see these "silly unfounded excuses" that beg intelligence....then you know you've got another OBL-LOVER on your hands.

MANY of the Globalists are headquarted in Connecticut.

AND there CEO's live there even if the corporation is still in New York.