San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial

A sheriff's dilemma

Enforcing immigration law is Border Patrol job

2:00 a.m. July 12, 2009

As if the nation's sheriffs and police chiefs didn't have a tough enough job. They are constantly under pressure by immigration restrictionists to allow their officers to enforce federal immigration law. That is a recipe for sending more illegal immigrants underground, where they can be victimized and preyed upon. Instead of curbing crime, this policy change would generate more of it, since people would be afraid to report infractions or serve as witnesses.

Illegal immigration is a federal problem, and so the solution has to stem from the federal government. When local law enforcement agencies try to take on that responsibility, they usually make a mess of things. See: Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

That was the message advanced by several current and former police chiefs who recently called a news conference to urge that Congress devise new legislation to bring illegal immigrants out of the shadows. The police chiefs were building on recommendations made three years ago by more than 50 of their colleagues who urged that illegal immigrants be integrated into society to improve public safety and that local police refrain from enforcing federal immigration law. The chiefs also criticized the federal 287(g) program, which allows dozens of police departments to have a hand in rounding up illegal immigrants.

Some of this seems to go over well with new San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore. The sheriff told a San Diego Union-Tribune editorial board member this week that he also opposes the 287(g) program and that he won't allow his deputies to be roped into enforcing immigration law. The Sheriff's Department doesn't have the resources, he said. However, Gore insisted, if his deputies come across someone they suspect is in the country illegally, they can detain them while they notify the Border Patrol.

This approach seems problematic. Once residents begin to see local officers and federal immigration agents working in tandem, it will almost certainly blur the line between the jurisdictions and could make people fearful of sheriff's deputies. This could be a real problem in San Marcos, Vista, Poway, El Cajon and other cities that contract with the sheriff for police protection.

We prefer how it is done at the San Diego Police Department, where the written policy is that officers “shall not make an effort to look for violations of immigration law.â€