Deport All Criminal Aliens
It amazes me that, with the emerging threat of terrorism and IED's in America, with the growing loss of life to violent crime and even accidents, with the terrifying rise of violent street gangs like MS-13, we still cannot agree that all illegal aliens that are criminal offenders should be deported from our country.
The L.A. Times recently took on Special Order 40, as have several others, which declared that “officers shall not initiate police action with the objective of discovering the alien status of a person.” Passed in 1979, and now the model for many law enforcement agencies across the country, the order was meant to assure both victims and witnesses of criminal activity that they would not be targeted for prosecution or deportation, regardless of their immigration status.
Many years ago, when we actually enforced our laws, we would make felony arrests, based solely on the fact that a person was here illegally. Of course, most of those people deported were back again within days, but with a "new" identity and false ID's to match. As time went by, we could no longer arrest solely for illegal alien status, but must first have an "arrestable offense." As our jails grew ever more crowded, the initial "arrestable offense" had to be a felony before the illegal alien charge could be added.
And then one day, just to save the county money, we stopped arresting based on illegal alien status altogether.
I can honestly say that, in all my years of police service, I never once saw or heard an officer threaten the victim of the crime, or the witness to a crime, with deportation if they didn't cooperate.
That's the good news.
tThe bad news is that we have been gone completely to the opposite extreme. Since we could no longer arrest or charge people with being here illegally, they often would be released on bail or "OR," simply to re-offend again or vanish before their court date. The old adage of the crook being out of jail before the cop finished the paper work certainly applies in this situation. We were frustrated beyond belief, at first - then simply learned to live with it.
Personally, I followed the rules and tried not to think about it too much. I always figured that, when the country grew tired of constantly being the victims of violent crime, gang activity, drunk driving accidents involving in juries and death, the growing homeless population and the problems associated with "labor lines", vandalism and other such nonsense, they would simply demand that their elected officials put a stop to it.
But I was wrong.
Americans have been demanding for years that we secure our borders, deport aliens that are criminals and reform our immigration policy so that honest, law-abiding people could come here legally and work, yet our politicians - from the POTUS, to Congress, to local Mayors and Governors trying to earn a few votes - refuse to do anything. You would think that the failed attempts to pass the Amnesty and DREAM Acts would have clued our "leaders" in, but they seem oblivious to what Americans want.
To me, taking criminal aliens and kicking them out of this country is just common sense. And, considering the growing opposition to Special Order 40, I don't just mean known violent gang members.
I mean ALL criminal aliens. Rapists. Child molesters. Murderers. Thieves, robbers and burglars. Violent criminals. Drug addicts. Drunks. Taggers. And every other alien that just can't seem to find a way to obey our laws. Call it the LID Project... LOCATE, IDENTIFY and DEPORT all criminal aliens.
I do not think that we cops should investigate everyone they come across, looking for illegal aliens. I do not believe that we should round illegal aliens up and deport them en masse. But I also do not believe that we should look the other way and pretend that everything is fine. What's that old saying? Something like we have reached such a state as this, where the commonplace is grotesque, and the grotesque commonplace.
I know illegal aliens, some that I consider friends and even family, others that I encounter every day in one form or another. Some of them I have personally vouched for as they have pursued citizenship and others for which I would happily do so again. They love their families, work hard, obey our laws and yes, even love America. Many of them have views of illegal immigration that are similar to my own. And they don't want to fall victim to criminals any more than the rest of us.
We have to start somewhere. We must enforce our laws. We must demand that our law enforcement officials be allowed to investigate the resident status of anyone charged with a crime. Those arrested for minor offenses should be flagged and deported. Those charged with more serious charges should stand trial, serve their time if convicted, and then deported.
We have to start taking back our country and this, my friends, is a no brainer.
Also on topic this Sunday:
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