Mayor wants to rewrite the rules on immigrants
By LISA FALKENBERG Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Aug. 5, 2009, 8:23PM

A few weeks ago, when Bill White was stumping in Dallas at an event sponsored by the League of United Latin American Citizens, he was asked about Houston's plan to join the controversial 287(g) program, which typically trains jailers to check inmates' immigration status.

At home, White the mayor hadn't expressed any reluctance about the Houston Police Department joining the program.

But White the candidate seemed to indicate plenty of reservation: He stressed to the group that he hadn't signed anything yet.

Was he playing a politician, or was there another reason for his reluctance? Well, after reading today's story by the Chronicle's Susan Carroll and Bradley Olson, I think, both. And, sometimes, that's OK.

The mayor apparently has every intention of implementing the federal program, just not as written. As is White's nature, he wants to write his own rules.

Sure, his tailored version, in a Machiavellian-minded political analysis, allows White to have his cake and eat it, too.

He gets to look tough on crime and combat Houston's dreaded image as a “sanctuary cityâ€