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Violence New Worry Concerning Aliens

By The Intelligencer

Problems with illegal immigration tend to begin at our borders — particularly the one with Mexico — then spread inland. It may be only a matter of time, then, before police in our area find themselves in gunfights with illegal immigrants.

Members of Congress are being told that violence along the border with Mexico has become far more common than in the past. Armed thugs paid to smuggle drugs and/or illegal immigrants into the United States are not surrendering when stopped by law enforcement officers — but are opening fire.

“We anticipate that we will be in a fight, a very violent confrontation, in every interdiction effort, with running gun battles down public roadways,” Cochise County, Ariz., Sheriff Larry Dever told a Senate committee.

It is not uncommon for police in our area to arrest illegal immigrants, usually because of traffic stops. Thus far, most have simply submitted and been taken off to jail, then released to federal authorities — when the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency will take them. The thought of a local sheriff’s deputy confronted by gun-toting smugglers is not a pleasant one.

The popular perception of illegal aliens crossing our southern border is that they are merely poor Mexicans trying to find a better life here. In most cases, that is true. But increasingly, the border is being crossed by hardened, often violent criminals. During the past five months, more than 42,000 of the illegal aliens caught at the border were convicted criminals or people being sought in connection with crimes, according to federal officials. About 139,000 of the illegal aliens arrested last year fell into the same category.

Immigration officials say they simply do not have enough personnel to deal with the problem. The ICE has just 5,500 special agents to handle illegal immigrants throughout the United States.

Clearly, the Bush administration and Congress need to take the issue of illegal aliens more seriously. If that means more money, it should be provided. If it means ignoring Mexican government protests when U.S. law enforcement officers win gun battles, so be it. Whatever it takes to stop the flow of vicious criminals into the United States needs to be done.