Commentary: Operation strays from stated goals
By Walter Rubel
Article Launched: 09/23/2007 12:00:00 AM MDT
http://www.lcsun-news.com/news/ci_6973698

When the federal government expanded Operation Stonegarden last year, the stated purpose was to provide funding to local law enforcement agencies so they could assist federal agents in combating terrorism along the border.

"Under the auspices of the (Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program), (the Department of Homeland Security) plans to reinitiate the highly successful Operation Stonegarden as a means of improving border security and countering the terrorist threat," the feds said in a statement last summer.

No terrorists were rounded up last week in Chaparral. There were, however, 28 mothers, fathers, neighbors and co-workers snagged in the net.

The Otero County sheriff said the operation simply involved officers doing routine patrols, and then asking about the immigration status after a stop had been made for some other reason.

"We, at no time, profile," Otero County Sheriff John Blansett insisted at a news conference last week called to defend the roundup.

How, exactly, does that work? Let's say I was traveling through Chaparral with a broken tail light during the middle of the operation and got pulled over. Will I, with my blond hair, blue eyes and middle-America speech pattern, be subjected to the same line of questioning as an Hispanic driver? If not, isn't that profiling? If so, isn't that ridiculous?

I should hasten to add here that I don't blame the sheriff's officers who participated in this operation. I just think they are being put in an impossible position.

The primary responsibility of local law enforcement should be to enhance the safety of the communities they serve. Instilling fear within the residents of those communities — whether they are here legally or not — will have the exact opposite effect.

If people are afraid to have any interaction with local law enforcement, they become easy targets for violent criminals. And, having a community full of fearful victims creates a breeding ground for predators.

That is why it should be the responsibility of the federal government to secure the border and enforce immigration laws, not the local sheriffs.


[i]Walter Rubel has been a newsman for more than 25 years and is managing editor of the Sun-News. He can be reached at wrubel@lcsun-news.com.[ /i]