Kentuckiana cities want to crack down on illegal immigrants
http://www.wave3.com


Oct 17, 2007 06:30 PM EDT
By Maira Ansari






LOUISVILLE (WAVE) -- WAVE 3 is investigating the controversial issue of illegal immigrants and how two local communities are trying to crack down on them. The debate is just beginning here in Louisville and Shelbyville, but as WAVE 3's Maira Ansari reports, it is already creating a lot of reaction.

Here in the Metro, a resolution will soon be considered to limit an illegal immigrant's access to programs. In Shelbyville, those leaders went one step further -- considering federal training for their officers. But they say they've learned a lesson on what they can and cannot do when it comes to enforcement.

City leaders considered getting 287-G training from Immigration Customs Enforcement or ICE. They wanted police to learn federal immigration laws. 287-G would apply to illegals arrested for serious felony crimes.

"If an illegal alien is in our community causing problems promoting criminal activity, then we are gonna deal with them. We're hoping to arrest them, get them detained by ICE and get them deported," said Shelbyville mayor Thomas Hardesty.

After much debate, 287-G is now on the back burner due to concerns the 23 man Shelbyville Police Department didn't have resources to deal it.

"It does take some time away from here ..in training reduce the available resources by one to address these issues on a full time basis" said Shelbyville police chief Bob Schutte.

City and county law enforcement say they already work with ICE to crack down on illegal immigrants and would need more funding to take on the program. They also want to see how other cities would take it on.

"287-G program has been around since 1996 and has been available to us and have never taken advantage of it," said Metro councilman Doug Hawkins.

It's an idea Hawkins would like to see put in place in Louisville. He placed a similar resolution for consideration by the council.

"We can turn them over to the ICE program and federal custody and not have to prosecute them, not have to house them and not have to pay for them. They no longer become a liability to our tax structure to our constituents in Louisville," said Hawkins.

Mayor Hardesty told WAVE 3 they aren't doing away with the idea of 287-G all together. He says it's something that would work better in the jail system. That is also something Governor Ernie Fletcher is considering.

Currently six agencies in 12 states are taking part in the program. And the Metro will consider Hawkins' resolution at a committee meeting on October 29th.