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Metro officials handle enforcement program responsibly

On a local news broadcast one morning this week, there was coverage on two arrests made due to traffic stops. One traffic stop resulted in the arrest of a serial rapist and the other was for drugs.

In 2007, there were 261,000 traffic stops in Metro. Forty seven percent of this total resulted in warnings, which accounts for all drivers regardless of nationality.
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Hispanic drivers accounted for only 5.5 percent of the traffic stops with
42 percent resulting in warnings. A physical arrest or state misdemeanor citation resulted in 28.9 percent of these stops. The significant figure here is the 28.9 percent, which is driven upward due to lack of proper identification. A judicial commissioner must find probable cause for arrest prior to the booking.

In February 2007, Resolution Number RS2007-1763, the 287(g) program, was approved by the Metro Council. This resolution approved an agreement between the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Davidson County Sheriff's Department to identify and process immigration offenders in our correctional facilities. ICE is a component of the US Department of Homeland Security. The 287(g) program was brought to this community after a series of tragic crimes in the summer of 2006. These crimes were committed by illegal immigrants — many of whom had been previously jailed and released. One of the best examples of why this program is important involved an illegal immigrant who lived in my district. This man was arrested 14 times prior to driving under the influence and hitting another vehicle head-on in Lakewood. Occupants in the other vehicle died. If the 287(g) program had been in existence earlier it may have prevented the scenario just described.

Obviously, any community would want this program administered responsibly — and Nashville law enforcement agencies (the Davidson County Sheriff's Office and the Metro Police Department) are doing just that. Any foreign-born person who is physically arrested and booked into jail is subject to the 287(g) screening. Much has been said about only processing those who have committed serious crimes, but I believe, as do most of my constituents, that we must remove these people from our community before they commit more serious crimes. The Metro police department has unfairly drawn some criticism regarding traffic stops that eventually lead to an illegal alien's being deported. Keep in mind that if you are stopped and issued a misdemeanor citation you are not physically arrested if you have identification that proves you are who you say you are.

Our law enforcement officers must require proper identification on a traffic stop. That next traffic stop may be a fugitive, a terrorist, someone with an outstanding warrant, or someone who has entered our country illegally and has committed a crime. Almost 40 percent of the people processed for removal by the DCSO ICE deputies have been in our jails previously. More than 50 known gang members have been removed from our community over the past year — many arrested for minor law violations.

Since the inception of 287(g), there has not been one report of a high profile crime committed by an illegal alien. When you compare that with 2006, there were five in a matter of months. In Nashville, the percentage of illegal aliens booked into our jail has decreased since the program started just over a year ago — so maybe the message is getting out.

Drive safe and drive legal!

Jim Forkum is vice chairman of the Public Safety Committee of the Metro Council, representing District 9.

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