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GLOBE EDITORIAL
Policing busboys
June 22, 2006

GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY'S message seems directed to a national political audience more than to locals, but its point is clear: Illegal immigrants are not welcome in Massachusetts.

Romney is calling for state troopers to get the training they would need to enforce federal immigration laws. Troopers would not conduct workplace raids. But in the course of their usual duties they would be able to check people's immigration status and detain them. The training program is run by US Immigration and Custom Enforcement. A 1996 law gives states the authority to enforce federal immigration laws.

It's a bad idea for Massachusetts that would pour salt in a policy wound, not heal it.

By itself, Romney's proposal is unlikelyto deter many people from coming to the state illegally. It probably would encourage some to avoid the police, fleeing from traffic stops and not reporting crimes. Less crime reporting could compromise the protection of public safety, the primary mission of local police forces. Other police forces have rejectedthe training program precisely for thisreason.

The training covers immigration law, civil rights, and intercultural communication, and it takes a stand against racial profiling. Three states have sent troopers for training, including Alabama, where 44 troopers have been trained. Since 2003, when troopers were first trained there, more than 160 illegal immigrants have been arrested.

Alabama troopers who have been trained check the immigration status of all individuals that they stop, question, or arrest. If Massachusetts followed suit, what would happen to a speeding 18-year-old who has lived in Massachusetts illegally with her parents since the age of 3?

Real reform has to come from Washington. New federal laws should secure the borders and create more opportunities to reside here legally. A legal crackdown doesn't address the fact that the state has an economic need for immigrants.

Massachusetts leaders also have to decide how best to fight real threats, rather than cracking down on busboys, hotel maids, and janitors. At a debate among the Democratic gubernatorial candidates yesterday, only Deval Patrick backed a sensible view of the state's proper role.

Homeland security is a matter of dire importance. But immigrants largely come here to work, not commit terrorist attacks. Sending local police to do the federal government's job puts on a questionable show of force, giving federal officials more opportunity to procrastinate, instead of fighting for real, comprehensive reform.



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