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What about 'illegal' doesn't Patrick get?
Eagle-Tribune

One wonders what other laws the Bay State's new governor might direct state troopers not to enforce.

Deval Patrick has told reporters that one of his first acts after taking the oath of office Jan. 4 will be to rescind the agreement his predecessor, Mitt Romney, signed recently with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement allowing some troopers to take into custody anyone they determine to be in this country illegally.

This wouldn't be their primary mission, and only those who received training regarding immigration laws would be given that authority. But it would seem to make sense that if, in the course of traffic stops or the performance of other duties, a state trooper encountered an illegal alien, he should take the same measures as would an immigration officer in similar circumstances.

Patrick told reporters last Thursday that in his estimation "the state police have a very big job as it is, without having to add enforcing federal immigration law on top of it." We wonder whether he bothered to check with the troopers and their commanders about how burdensome the new policy would be, since he clearly hadn't consulted federal authorities when he claimed they were opposed to the idea as well. Patrick's statement that "INS isn't interested in sharing their enforcement powers," drew a terse disclaimer from a spokeswoman for the agency, and a Patrick aide later had to acknowledge that the governor-elect had misspoken.



Patrick has made clear he intends to reach out to those new to the country who may be struggling to fit in or make a go of it here. That's all well and good, but we hope he is not condoning the actions of those who break the law to get here. That's the message he's sending, however, by telling state police to look the other way when they encounter an illegal alien on the highway.