Police Chief's deterrent for Illegal Immigration!
Bring me your humbling masses!
A few weeks ago, I was quite shocked by a news report out of Texas that a Mayor of one of their fair cities was engaging in an all-out mean-spirited attempt to purge his town of illegal immigrants by ignoring State and Federal Laws in respect to apprehension, detainment, and deportation.
The city Official was clearly ignoring binding legal procedures (due process, for starters), and it irked me.
In the final analysis, the misguided politician has been stepping on the toes of Federal agents at U.S. Homeland Security, who have been charged with a responsibility he has been trying to usurp.
On the other hand, the Los Angeles Police Chief's strict adherance to the thirty-old law - Special Order 40 - has gone too far the other way; in fact, Chief Charlie Beck's pig-headed approach borders on ignorance, incompetence, and a lack of foresight.
According to a Los Angeles Times editorial recently, the measure is not only controverisal, but vital.
I thoroughly disagree for a couple of reasons.
While I do not believe that the LAPD (and the Sheriff's Department) shouldn't willy-nilly target individuals at the curb of downtown streets as they pine for day work - for example - on the other hand I firmly believe that exercising a little intelligence (and common sense) during the arrest process doesn't amount to any breach of an individual's rights.
To use an analogy, let's say, an officer pulls over a motorist for driving with a broken tailgate light - and that during the course of the ticketing proedure - the officer discovers that the motorist doesn't have a license.
Should the cop ignore that fact and just issue a citation for for the brake-light violation?
No, sir!
Upon discovering that an individual being charged with a crime is an illegal alien, shouldn't the police department - as a matter of form - report the prisoner's illegal status to Homeland Security so that the Federal Government can take appropriate action (if they so desire)?
That appears to be the common-sense way to deal with the situation.
But, because a myriad of government agencies (and their officials) have continually dropped the ball in this regard over the years, the immigration problem has been allowed to reach epic proportions in this country today.
It strikes me as ludicrous that officers are being advised by the Chief of Police (wet behind the ears, obviously) to wantonly disregard the obvious.
Notwithstanding, the thirty-year old law is outdated, and should be sent by way of the dinosaur.
Indeed!
Because the United States is one of the most sophisticated nations in the world, capable of instituting a fool-proof system to halt illegal immigration (and surreptitious sneaks across the border), it boggles the mind to think that nothing has been accomplished in that regard.
Canada, France, and England - for starters - have managed quite nicely (thank you very much) coral the immigration problem from the get-go.
Why can't Homeland Security and the Department of Justice use a little high-tec American know-how to accomplish the same?
In the final analysis, were I a suspicious so-and-so, I'd hazard a guess that lobbyists in Washington are stalling and delaying the efforts for E-Verification - and a National ID card, too - to ultimately ensure that cheap labor is available to their penny-wise corporate masters.
And, American tax-payers be damned!
I'm all for - civil rights, due process, and what-have-you - but I also support intelligent action, common sense, and the right of U.S. residents to demand that the flow of immigrants be through the front door (and not the back one a handful of greedy self-serving politicians would prefer).
Amen!
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