Bill Aims to Help States Catch Criminal Aliens
By Kevin Mooney
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
October 25, 2007

(CNSNews.com) - Rape, kidnapping, drug smuggling, assault, burglary, murder and fraud convictions have been imposed on illegal aliens found to be residing throughout Pennsylvania in both rural and urban settings over the past few years, a new report shows.

The state is now experiencing an "invasion" of illegal immigration interconnected with heightened criminal activity and rising costs imposed on taxpayers, Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, a Republican state representative from the 12th district in Butler County, told Cybercast News Service. In cooperation with other Republican lawmakers, Metcalfe recently issued a report entitled "Invasion PA."

"When you look at the cost to our education system, our health care system and incarceration costs, you are looking at hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on illegal aliens that could otherwise be spent to improve the lives of our citizens and reduce taxes," he said.

"We are seeing a wide range of crimes being committed by people who should not be on our soil," Metcalfe added.

The report was put together to promote pending state legislation that would "shut off the economic faucet that attracts illegals into Pennsylvania" and provide local law enforcement with additional tools, Metcalfe said.

One of the policy changes Metcalfe has called for is greater participation in the 287g program. As Cybercast News Service previously reported, the program allows for state law enforcement officials to be trained in federal immigration law.

Over 3,000 "illegal alien invaders" have been involved in criminal activity, according to the report. But the actual number of incidents is probably much higher, Metcalfe pointed out, since a number of crimes go unreported.

The human trafficking operations now at work in Philadelphia are particularly disconcerting, Metcalfe said. The city has been identified as an emerging gateway for this type of criminal activity by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the report states.

The nexus between illegal immigration and organized crime has caught the attention of some lawmakers on Capitol Hill who now favor increased federal-state cooperation where criminal aliens are concerned.

To this end, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) has introduced the Clear Act (HR 3494), which would give local officials the authority to apprehend and detain criminal aliens, so they can be turned over to federal agents in an expedited fashion. Blackburn's bill would also allow for local law enforcement to have access to federal crime-tracking databases.

"We have narrowly drawn the legislation so that it just addresses the criminal aliens and absconders," she said. "We are talking about individuals who are known lawbreakers. The Clear Act would close off existing loopholes so that it becomes more difficult for a criminal alien to remain in the country."

The Clear Act would also help local officials who encounter illegal aliens involved with gang activity and drug trafficking operations, Blackburn explained. "The databases can be a real help because there are repeat offenders who use aliases and this information can be compiled and shared with local officials," she suggested.

But not everyone is keen on the idea of giving state agents greater latitude in the realm of immigration law.

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), a Hispanic civil rights group, is ardently opposed to the Clear Act. Once state and local police officers become identified with the enforcement of federal immigration law, their relationship will sour with the Latino community, NCLR has argued on its Web site.

"We have grave concerns that are shared by local law enforcement across the country," Lisa Navarrete, an NCLR spokeswoman said.

"The involvement of state and local officials with immigration law takes away from their primary job, which is to ensure public safety. We believe it [the Clear Act] compromises public safety because the police are being asked to do something they are not trained to do," she said.

The Clear Act has the advantage of "attacking the lowest hanging fruit" in the form of criminal aliens, Steve Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), told Cybercast News Service in an interview.

Although House Democratic leadership is inclined to sidestep the issue for now, some of the more conservative Democratic members have expressed support, Camarota observed. For this reason alone the Clear Act is likely to resurface in the not too distant future, even if it does not get a fair hearing in the current congressional session, he added.
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