Thread: VA AG seeks immigrant crackdown

AG seeks immigrant crackdown

http://link.toolbot.com/dailyprogress.com/55719

By Rob Seal
January 18, 2007

Virginia’s top prosecutor is seeking to give state law enforcement the authority to crack down on illegal immigration.

Attorney General Bob McDonnell called on Gov. Timothy M. Kaine on Wednesday to enter into a federal agreement that would give Virginia State Police the authority to detain illegal immigrants.

The state attorney general is also supporting new legislation that would allow local law enforcement to seek immigration enforcement training from the federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Attorney General McDonnell feels as though we can’t just keep blaming the federal government for inaction,” spokesman David Clementson said. “We here in Virginia should be responsible for fighting illegal immigration.”

Kaine, however, said Wednesday that he won’t have state police take on what he described as a federal responsibility.

“Gov. Kaine has looked into this issue and has determined that he doesn’t think this is an appropriate use of state police resources,” said Kevin Hall, Kaine’s press secretary.

Federal law says local authorities can ask for training that would allow them to enforce immigration laws.

If passed, legislation recently introduced in the General Assembly would make the right to ask for that training part of state law.

However, local authorities say they don’t have the ability or the inclination to tackle immigration enforcement.

“You add something of this magnitude to our workload and I think it will stretch the resources of this police department in a way that doesn’t best serve the community,” Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy J. Longo said.

Albemarle Police Chief John Miller said he doesn’t want to jeopardize bridges the department is trying to build with the Hispanic community.

“The hardest thing to overcome with that community is their distrust of police,” Miller said. “If we were putting on the hat of immigration enforcement, there would be a lot of Hispanic people that would not come to us if they had a problem.”

Albemarle County Sheriff Edgar S. Robb said he supports the idea of additional immigration enforcement, but doesn’t think his department could handle the strain.

“I very much agree that we need to do something,” said Robb, a former federal agent. “But we certainly don’t have the manpower to do it well.”
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Yay yay! Go go!

Cross check social Security numbers and they'll be out of a job!!

Virginia and this area have so many illegals that many of the stores and cafes don't even serve English speakers. In some places it looks like Mexico or central America. When my husband and I were having our house built the workers did not speak English and the supervisor could not figure out why the workers were doing a bad job. They could not understand to take orders. It is time to get rid of illegals.

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Attorney General Challenges Kaine To Seek Federal Immigration Authority

Jan 20, 2007 06:57 AM PST

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine needs to seek federal authority for some state law-enforcement agencies to enforce immigration laws in the course of investigating violent crimes, Attorney General Bob McDonnell said.

McDonnell, a Republican, challenged the Democratic governor to reconsider his decision not to enter into federal agreements that allow state agents to use federal law to civilly detain illegal immigrants they encounter during criminal investigations.

Local and state authorities can only hold illegal immigrants for up to 72 hours, and then only if they have been convicted of a felony, deported and then returned to Virginia, McDonnell said. By entering an agreement with the federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he said, illegal immigrants they've arrested for crimes could be held until they're picked up by the Department of Homeland Security.

"Our citizens are calling out for solutions. Unfortunately, the federal government has provided neither the resources nor the manpower to enforce federal immigration laws within ... Virginia," McDonnell said during a news conference.

The proposal alarmed advocates for immigrant groups who say the measure is unnecessary and creates fear among law-abiding immigrants that distances them from police. Kaine said he is concerned about the costs of the state doing the federal government's work, that it would interfere with the core mission of the state police and possibly undermine effective agreements the state already has in place with ICE.

"I think we have statutes on the books and a partnership with ICE already in place that's doing the job, so for that reason I say that memorandum is not needed right now," Kaine said. "I don't want to pick up the budgetary responsibilities that ICE has. That's a federal responsibility. What we want to do is demand of our federal delegation of legislators that they provide the appropriate to anti-immigration activities and not ... have Virginia state taxpayers pick up the bill," he said.

Kaine isn't the first governor to dismiss the idea. Former Gov. Mark R. Warner also declined an agreement with ICE for similar reasons. McDonnell said giving state authorities federal immigration enforcement rights would empower Virginia law enforcement agencies, not interfere with them, and it would cost the state little.

"I don't see the great additional burden on local law enforcement," McDonnell said at a news conference. "We can't keep saying (illegal immigration is) a federal issue and we're helpless in Virginia to do anything about it because we're not," he said. Several Virginia localities, including Herndon, Prince William County and Harrisonburg, already exploring agreements with ICE independent from the state, McDonnell said.

Sen. Jay O'Brien and Del. Thomas D. Rust, both R-Fairfax County, have introduced bills that would clear obstacles in state law that would prevent localities from enforcing federal immigration laws.

Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, a lobbyist who represents immigrant groups, said McDonnell failed to convince her of a need for giving state and local authorities federal enforcement powers. "It creates a fear in the community that distances them from their local police further damages the faith in the community rather than enhances it," she said.

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