Immigration question needs federal answer

CourierPOstOnline.com • December 3, 2008



Congress and the next president must pass comprehensive immigration reform.
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What should police do with someone who breaks the law?

A simple question, to be sure, that has a simple answer.

But, when one just word is added -- "What should police do with someone who breaks the immigration laws?" -- it becomes far from simple for police.

Last year, three college students in Newark were brutally lined up and executed on a schoolyard playground. The suspected killer, Jose Carranza, was an illegal immigrant who had been out on bail following previous arrests for raping a child and a bar fight. Carranza has pleaded not guilty to the murders.

Not long after that shocking incident, New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram directed police departments around the state to check the immigration status of suspects they arrest for serious crimes such as murder, assault, larceny, etc. Those arrested who are found to be in this country illegally are reported to federal immigration officials. Since that directive went out, the number of referrals to immigration officials in New Jersey has shot up.

Milgram was right to issue the directive. There are many reasons why police should know the residency status of suspects in serious crimes. For one thing, judges need to know how much of a flight risk a suspect poses when deciding on bail.

But, because the federal government has sat on its hands and done nothing about the immigration issue, Milgram's directive, well-intentioned as it is, muddies the waters. Police in some states, like New Jersey, ask about immigration status. Police in other states aren't asking. All of this is confusing, both for police and immigrants.

Congress and our next president need to end the confusion.

People risk life and limb to get across our southern border. About 12 million of them are in this country. They find a place to live and find a job -- taking advantage of some taxpayer-funded services that are available, while not taking advantage of those that aren't available. They pay some taxes, but not all of them -- often payroll taxes. We wink and nod at employers who pay them off the books. The immigrants live in the shadows, trying desperately to stay out of the sight of police, even if it means not reporting when they've been attacked, or running away from the scene of car accidents.

Oh, and if they have children in this country, those kids are American citizens while the parents remain illegal immigrants.

This is not a system; it's a mess.

Mass deportation of all these immigration lawbreakers is an impractical and impossible option, so Washington needs to do something.

We must adjust the number of immigrants we let in legally to reflect the labor needs of the times.

We must tighten our border security so people aren't dying in the desert.

We should adopt a guest-worker program for those who come here to work for a short time and then return home.

And we must have a process by which illegal immigrants who are here and want to stay can pay back taxes and fines, then get at the back of the line and apply for citizenship.

President-elect Barack Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress that will be seated in January need to make comprehensive immigration reform a priority in 2009. State attorneys general shouldn't have to try to figure out what to do with immigration law and navigate choppy political waters doing it.
http://www.courierpostonline.com/articl ... 30318/1046