Thread: State stumbling toward solutions to immigration ills

State (NJ) stumbling toward solutions to immigration ills

Friday, August 31, 2007
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qst ... FlZUVFeXk5
By LAWRENCE AARON
RECORD COLUMNIST

WRESTLING with immigration is a tough job.

A couple of government actions this year suggested that the state wants to address immigration issues -- but without really making any waves.

The most recent was Governor Corzine's creation of an unwieldy blue ribbon immigration panel with 18 appointees and room to expand to nearly 30. The panel has no mandate to address the real concern, illegal immigration.

With a 15-month deadline to hand recommendations over to the governor, the commission is burdened with too many people and too much time.

Another toothless bite of the illegal immigration apple was the Department of Children and Families advisory promising DYFS help for kids left behind when parents are deported. New Jersey, among a handful of states that passed no immigration-related legislation in 2007, offered fragmented policies to address lack of federal enforcement of immigration laws.

Milgram's ruling

Attorney General Anne Milgram is a breath of fresh air. Her announcement last week that immigrants arrested for serious crimes should be asked about their immigration status was no-nonsense and direct. The question needs asking, not to be punitive to the law abiding immigrant community but to put violent felons on the road to deportation.

The attorney general, however, needs to clarify procedures for local law enforcement agencies. It's more complicated than just calling Immigration and Customs Enforcement when immigrants are charged with a crime. The initial stop and contact with local police leaves too much room for racial profiling.

Police would be hard-pressed to fairly decide which people they arrest should be quizzed about immigration status. Would only brownish people, those with accented English or those with non-Anglicized names be asked whether they are in the country illegally?

"I believe the directive may give the opportunity [for racial profiling]," said Carlos Gonzalez, a board member at the Immigration and American Citizenship Organization in Passaic. To avoid racial profiling, he would prefer that judges, rather than the arresting officer, have discretion to probe the citizenship issue.

"Suppose that the person is Canadian? Is the same question going to be asked if the person is Irish and looks American or Caucasian?" Gonzalez said.

David Wald, spokesman for Milgram's office, says that everyone's immigration status would be checked, not only those who "appear to be" immigrants. It is unlikely, however, that every police officer who arrests a perp will pose the question about immigration status.

Wald defends Milgram's policy as an extension of the state's obligation to protect everyone.

In fact, visitors to the United States enjoy the protection of our constitutional guarantees of due process, and cannot be summarily removed.

Immigration policy is like a herd of bulls in a controlled stampede in Pamplona. While everyone else seems to be running scared, Milgram has stopped the bull. She's wrestling with an important immigration policy until it can be officially repackaged at the federal level.

It's refreshing to see Milgram making strong immigration policy directives without fear of politics. At the same time, the federal responsibility to fix immigration is not being ignored.

Illegal immigrants are under a more intense spotlight following the murders of three Newark college students. Two of the accused are undocumented and have arrest records in the United States.

A passive approach

The United States has taken a relatively passive approach to the illegal immigrants living among us. They are not stopped randomly, they are not harassed about assembling and demonstrating, they are permitted to work, their skills are valued, and they are paid -- albeit often underpaid -- for their labor.

Court rulings and administrative decisions affirming their access to medical care and education permitted many to plant roots in American soil. With their numbers growing steadily for more than a decade, illegal immigrants live here in relative freedom, enjoying material comforts they lack back home. But it's unrealistic to believe it could last forever with no consequences.

Lawrence Aaron is a Record columnist. Contact him at aaron@northjersey.com. Send comments about this column to opedpage@gmail.com.

Added to Home PAge
http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=N ... e&sid=2513