You think someone in the police dept wanted to get the word out so their phones could stop ringing?
Just a thought.
~~~
Posted August 19, 2007

Local officials can't charge illegal immigrants

By Karen Madden
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers

Heightened security has brought national attention to the issue of illegal immigration -- but local law enforcement officials have their hands tied when it comes to enforcing immigration laws.


Central Wisconsin authorities have known for some time that the local U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office is thinly staffed, Wisconsin Rapids Police Chief Kurt Heuer said. That means that unless an illegal immigrant is on a watch list of people suspected of committing serious criminal activity, federal officials are unlikely to help local law enforcement agencies.

District attorneys don't have the authority to charge someone with being in the country illegally, said Tom Eagon, Portage County district attorney. It's up to the federal government to investigate and decide whether to take action.

There are about 5,000 customs agents and between 5,000 and 6,000 detainment officers for the country, said Michael Keegan, spokesman for the ICE agency. Like any law enforcement entity, the department has to make the most effective use of its resources.

"There's only so much we can do," Keegan said.

ICE prioritizes illegal immigrants into three levels, he said. The first category contains people who pose a threat to national security; the second, people involved in serious criminal activities; and the third, people with no criminal background. Although the agency cares about all illegal immigrants, it has to concentrate most of its limited resources where they are the most needed.

Recently, the Wisconsin Rapids Police Department has received calls from people asking officers to check the immigration status of some construction workers fixing roofs in the city, Heuer said. The police don't have the authority to go to job sites and start questioning people without reason to believe a crime has been committed.

The state enforces immigration laws when it comes to employers who hire illegal immigrants, Eagon said. In that case, it would be the employer -- not the illegal immigrant -- who is prosecuted locally.

Police can't approach a person and ask if he or she is in the country legally, Marshfield Police Chief Joseph Stroik said. Unless the person is involved in a crime, there is no reason for authorities to ask.

"People don't understand that," Stroik said.


http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.d ... 1003/APC01