The MJM Joins The Open Borders Crowd
http://www.bvbl.net/index.php/2007/09/1 ... ers-crowd/
By Greg L | 10 September 2007 | National Politics, Illegal Aliens | 6 Comments

Today’s Manassas Journal-Messenger’s editorial (see below) pretty much lays out the editorial board’s opinion on the illegal alien problem - don’t discourage landlords from renting to illegal aliens, and don’t let the police detail illegal aliens on immigration violations because it’s the beginning of the establishment of a police state. It would be interesting to do a poll to see just how out of touch the MJM’s editorial board might be with the public, so at the bottom of this post is a poll. Is it right that local police are currently prohibited from detaining illegal aliens solely on immigration violations when they’re asked to help enforce every other federal law and regulation?

Of course, the editorial board would like to see the hammer dropped on businesses that hire illegal aliens, something that would be eminently sensible if it were part of a broader strategy. Right now it looks like the state and local governments are the single largest employer of illegal aliens in the Commonwealth, and for them to continue awarding contracts to businesses that hire illegal aliens when employers would be getting penalized for essentially doing the same thing doesn’t at all seem reasonable. But business is a popular whipping boy for the left, and the MJM’s editorial board certainly can attempt to appear as if they’re interested in compromise here. I can’t imagine that many of their advertisers are all that interested in funding the MJM’s advocacy that businesses should solely be held accountable for our illegal alien problems, however.

There are perhaps 6,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents working on immigration enforcement nationwide, and they’re clearly unable to enforce the law. Illegal aliens are well aware of this, and that lax enforcement encourages ever-growing numbers of illegal aliens to come to the United States. Add over 700,000 state and local police officers to the mix, and that perception, and very likely the reality will significantly change. We’re either going to get serious about addressing the problem, or we’re going to tolerate continued lip-service to securing our borders and enforcing our laws, which is what we’re getting now from the federal government.

Lip service is what got us into this mess in the first place. We need to stop sanctuary jurisdictions, stop taxpayer dollars from being used to hire illegal aliens for government contracts or support illegal aliens through entitlement programs, punish employers for hiring illegal aliens, and use all the resources we currently have to start enforcing our laws. What Corey Stewart is proposed to Congress is a vitally important part of a real effort to actually do something about this problem.
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The beginnings of a police state
OUR OPINION - Manassas Journal Messenger

Potomac News
Monday, September 10, 2007

At least Prince William Board of County Supervisor's Chairman Corey A. Stewart recognizes the problem.
He was a witness at the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and Internal Law Thursday on Capitol Hill.

He told the subcommittee that Congress wasn't doing its job with respect to illegal immigration.

We agree. If Congress was doing its job, then we wouldn't have as big a problem with illegal immigration as we do.

Stewart met with the subcommittee because Prince William County recently proposed a resolution that would deny some services to illegal immigrants.

He told the subcommittee that he would like Congress to give local jurisdictions the authority to detain and arrest illegal immigrants, fine employers who hire illegal immigrants and fine landlords who rent to illegal immigrants.

We agree wholeheartedly that employers should be fined if they knowingly hire or rent to illegal immigrants.

However, we are not sure that landlords should be fined or that local jurisdictions should have the power to detain and arrest illegal immigrants.

We fear that if landlords are fined for renting to illegal immigrants, our streets will become their next abode.

We don't want illegal immigrants living under the nearest bridge or behind Padrinos restaurant.

And Stewart told the panel that by law police couldn't arrest and hold illegal immigrants unless they have committed another crime.

Isn't that as it should be?

Do we really want police going around, trying to round up suspected illegal immigrants so that they can be deported?

And how would the police determine who is illegal or legal? As crazy as this seems, they might have to resort to questioning people who look Hispanic.

We think that giving police carte blanche authority to arrest illegal immigrants is a bad idea.

If an illegal immigrant commits another crime, arrest them. And working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the county can even get some of them deported.

But the police should not be used as the first line of defense against illegal immigration. Their job is to protect and serve, not to find and detain.