Thread: Illegal immigration bill backs local police powers

Illegal immigration bill backs local police powers
Senate pushes to allow arrests
By Mary Lou Pickel
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 03/07/08

Georgia's Republican U.S. senators want to give police the power to arrest illegal immigrants they might encounter in their communities.

Police officials wonder how that authority might affect their relationship with Latino residents who are victims of crime.

"I'm going to hesitate to say how we would use that bill if it were passed," Cobb County Police spokesman Dana Pierce said. "We'd adjust if necessary."

The "Effective Immigration Enforcement Partnerships Act of 2008," Senate Bill 2717, introduced this week by Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, would give police the power to make arrests for immigration violations.

Those violations are now federal and noncriminal, and are the responsibility of federal immigration agents.

Violators now appear before an administrative immigration judge, not a criminal judge.

Doraville Police Chief John King said he already is working closely with federal agents to remove the "worst of the worst" illegal immigrants from his community. King said he is not sure how the bill would help. Police are facing a lot of unreported crime because the Latino community is afraid to approach the police, he said.

"Are we going to run these people through the database when they call 911 for help? That's what the Latino community feels," King said.

"We spend a good portion of our time convincing them to cooperate with us —- that we're not there to check their papers," he said.

"We're caught in the middle of a horrible situation."

In Cobb, relations between the police and the Latino community are sensitive, Pierce said.

"We obviously understand there is that inherent distrust between police and our Latino community, because of what they have experienced in their country. Those feelings carry over to another country," he said. "Because of their immigration status —- even more so if they're not properly documented —- they become even more suspicious and hesitant."

"When we have a crime victim, immigration status is not an issue to us," Pierce said. "We're interested in finding the perp who stole a wallet out of their car."

The Chambliss-Isakson bill would require the government to expand the type of immigration violations included in the National Crime Information Center's Immigration Violators File. That would give police more information on a person's legal status.

The bill also would dedicate $500 million nationwide to reimburse police agencies for detaining and transporting illegal immigrants to federal custody.

Gwinnett County Sheriff R.L. Butch Conway, is considering a federal program, known as 287(g), that would train his deputies to check the legal status of all inmates who come into his jail. It would flag illegal immigrants for deportation.

Conway says he needs 18 more deputies to do the job, however.

"We'd welcome any funding," sheriff's spokeswoman Stacey Bourbonnais said.
http://www.ajc.com:80/metro/content/met ... t0307.html

When a fire overwhelms a fire station unit, the call goes out and the "alarm count" climbs. If the fire is large enough units from other cities, counties and occasionally neighboring states come to assist to save, first, the lives of those at risk and , second to control the fire and stop it from wide spread destruction. This destruction is harmful to the neighboring building, the economic well-being of the community, the jobs and homes of the nearby neighbors and ultimately, the state and the country.
The wide spread destruction of jobs, financial and human strain on our resources, (Medical, school, etc), caused by illegal immigration has spread beyond the ability of the Fire Department (ICE) to control it without raising the "alarm count". They need to call in, and pay, the city, county and state resources to assist in this monumental struggle. They need to stop being territorial. There are not enough of them to put out the fire.

Some fires are the result of arson. A crime often committed , per many investigations, by business owners whose businesses are failing or too demanding with little reward. This is a serious crime. It not only impacts the insurance companies, but ultimately all other insurance rates must go up. So, all American citizens pay for the crimes of these lawbreakers.

Thus, illegal immigration has raged uncontrolled in our country for years, quite like an uncontrolled forest fire. Many of us, myself included, did not notice the danger until the fires of illegal immigration neared our homes which started to be consumed by this danger. When all the trees(jobs) are gone, when the earth is scarred and the tears flow at the loss of God's beauty, when we sit and stare at our naked forests, (unemployment, education), the smoldering ruins of our society, the heritage we were going to leave our children and their children, is that when we wake up?? It is almost too late now. The conflagration of illegal immigration penetrates to the heart of this country. It is welcomed by those who are our elected and appointed stewards. They betray us daily. They support the businessmen who support them at the expense of the sovereignty of America. These businessmen and economists have decreed that profit and monetary gains are what America needs. They have decided that, from their lofty positions, they, and only they know what is good for America. They throw fuel on the flames of destruction. The more money they make, the farther they are from the flames and protected while middle class American get burned.
This type of socio-economic strata exists in Latin America and Mexico. The elites are very rich and very few. In Rio, they pay for a carnival each year to allay the anger and the needs of the poor. In America, they give us TV and American Idol. They give us a culture of low achieving youth whose greatest skills are wearing baseball caps with the brim askew and their electronic devices clutched firmly while they text message their friends. This is the carnival for our American youth and they play every day.

All is not lost, though. There are many young Americans who see the fires and want to help extinguish them. They work at being good Americans. They indulge in the play and the sops put in front of them, but they recognize that they are just amusements. Our military is populated with patriots. They are all qualified fire fighters. What kind of country will they be coming home to?? We owe it to them to keep it the America they left.

If God(or even the government), gave me the power, I would remove every pro-illegal immigration official from public office or service. Every business man or woman who knowingly hires illegal aliens to enhance their profits would be fined double the profits and have their business licenses removed. Every person that poisoned our children while seeking greater profits would learn the code of prison life.

The states are moving forward to stop the fires locally. They are doing what GW Bush and his administration refuse to do. They are making laws that support America. These brave officials face challenges from the other, traitorous officials who seek profit above all. They are accused, as you and I are, of bigotry, xenophobia and racism. God bless them. Open your eyes, see who they are and support them.

Tell your officials if they do not endorse the S.A.V.E. act, you will vote for their opposition. We should not need this act. The laws are in place already, but the stewards of our country refuse to enforce them.
Our churches have turned against us and God in order to renew their congregation numbers. The Catholicc church, in particular, has chosen a policy of "Rob Peter to pay Paul". Meanwhile the whole effort is to replace their coffers which were drained by lawsuits against them for allowing pederasty to run rampant for years by their clergy. So, to build these numbers, they urge their current congregation to violate Caesar's laws so that they can recoup their losses. Please bishops, send your missionaries out to their countries as you did for centuries, do not attempt to bring them all here. Shame on you. I believe Jesus has been Betrayed again, And when the Catholic church asks, "Is it I Lord", this time the answer will be a direct, "Yes".

It is my belief we can surmount and extinguish any fire if we first smother the fire of illegal immigration and illegal employment. We should also start back fires to control the spread of the fires that now engulf us. The fires we need to start are those of love of country and patriotism. The fires of American spirit and American family. Stop the schools from teaching our children that we Americans are and always have been bad people. Teach them the difference between a "melting pot" society and a multicultural society.

And though I fear for their safety and lives , teach them that it is better to stand on our feet than to serve on our knees even if we must risk our lives to do so. They are Americans too, and there is a price to be paid to uphold this great republic with its great opportunities.

America first, America always.

"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?