Thread: Editorial: Illegal immigration and the state police

Editorial:
Illegal immigration and the state police

http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/wb/139976

The governor has no plans to draft state troopers as ICE agents. They already help federal authorities find the truly criminal.

The Virginia State Crime Commission wants Gov. Tim Kaine to make state police help federal authorities deport illegal aliens that troopers encounter in the normal performance of their duties.

But in an admirable show of reason and restraint, the commission specified that troopers needn't be worrying themselves with the immigration status of every traffic offender. The recommendation, approved by the panel this week, suggests limiting the troopers' heightened role "to investigations involving serious or violent offenses." Sounds sensible, perhaps. But it's not.

In the past, Kaine has refused to sign a formal agreement with federal authorities that would have state police shoulder immigration enforcement duties, and he has been right. Troopers are spread too thin doing their own jobs, much less acting as an arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Still, the crime commission narrowed the focus of such enforcement efforts to serious public safety issues. And state and federal authorities should cooperate to rid the country of the truly bad actors among the state's "illegal aliens," most of whom are people once known as undocumented workers.

So, what the crime commission asks might sound wise -- were it not for the fact that state police already check suspects' immigration status when they have reason to in the course of investigating serious crimes. The change the crime commission seeks would shift paperwork responsibilities to them, as well -- along with extensive training needs.

That's not a good idea.

The governor's office already has put the commission on notice that Kaine has not changed his mind about state employees taking on federal tasks. But the ICE pact is only one of a slew of proposals the commission put forward, many of them useful.

Some would work to tighten immigration enforcement. Others would aim to improve public safety by improving public relations with increasingly wary immigrant populations.

For example, the commission urges law enforcement agencies to overcome language barriers with immigrant communities by training officers in other languages and cultures, and by hiring multilingual personnel.

The commission also encourages law enforcement agencies to strengthen their bonds with immigrant communities and build trust through crime prevention and neighborhood watch programs, community outreach events and the like.

Good suggestions, all. But police could make better headway by adopting an idea the commission ignored: Don't check the citizenship status of witnesses and victims of crime.

They will become invisible to society, but the real criminals will not.

Yeah, good one. Kaine says it's a federal issue, but it ends up being a public safety issue. It's easier to look the other way, especially when cheap labor is mowing your lawn.