Posted on 08/04/2002 11:39:48 AM PDT by Tancredo Fan
Border duty plan doesn't sit too well: Local police agencies aren't anxious to take on federal role
By BILL HESS
August 4, 2002
Herald/Review
COCHISE COUNTY -- Southeast Arizona law enforcement officials and one border mayor aren't enthusiastic about the idea of local police helping enforce the federal immigration laws.
Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever and Douglas Mayor Ray Borane said flat no to the idea.
Sierra Vista Police Chief Art Montgomery said Friday he is taking a wait-and-see attitude until he is given a formal Department of Justice proposal. "But my gut reaction is we don't want to get involved."
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft recently announced that beginning Aug. 23, local law enforcement agencies could be asked to help enforce federal immigration laws.
One of the unanswered questions is what will trigger the request. Some federal officials say it would be a massive migration of illegals, not the day-to-day movement of people who cross the border illegally.
Thursday, Dever and Borane said it is not the responsibility of local law agencies to make up for the nation's failed border policies and to get the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the U.S. Border Patrol out of the trouble they created.
"INS hasn't done anything to step up and clear up the mess it created," Dever said. "I do not want to shoulder it. I can't afford it, Absolutely not."
Borane said the proposal to ask local law enforcement agencies to do federal work "demonstrates how ridiculous the failed U.S. government policy (concerning the border) is." The mayor said the Douglas Police Department will not participate.
Dever and Borane noted sheriff's deputies and Douglas police officers already provide mutual assistance to federal agencies and receive help from U.S. government law enforcement.
Taking on the added responsibility of enforcing federal law goes beyond providing mutual assistance, they said.
Gov. Jane Hull also is opposed to using local law officers to step in where the federal government has not done its job, according to a statement from the governor's office.
Dever said he has concerns about the increased costs if his department was tasked to become involved.
The federal government has a history of not reimbursing local agencies for costs involved with problems caused by illegal immigrants and drug smuggling, he said.
Montgomery also said the cost for taking on some of the role the federal government should be doing makes it difficult, especially since his department's budget is tight, and he cannot hire more officers.
"I will keep an open mind, but the whole process seems to be mind-boggling," Montgomery said.
Dever said the federal government has to increase its presence along the border and make better use its assets already in place.
The Department of Justice has been remiss in understanding border issues, and a trip by Ashcroft to Cochise County, during which he did not meet with local law enforcement people, only strengthens the attorney general's lack of understanding of what is facing people who live along the border, the sheriff said.
Dever said another federal agency that could help is the military.
He said he is not talking about lining up tanks and machine gun nests north of the international boundary but using more of the armed forces in a support role, providing communications, intelligence and vehicles to allow more of the available US. Border Patrol agents to be on the line.
The sheriff said he knows that illegal immigrants and drug smugglers are causing criminal problems in the county. "On any day, 23 to 27 percent of the (county) jail population are illegal aliens," Dever said.
Borane said Douglas police officers' involvement in federal immigration law enforcement "would be embarrassing to the people of Douglas," because a majority of the residents are Hispanic, and many of the visitors coming into the city are from Mexico.
Borane said the United States and Mexican governments share the blame and burden.
Next week, Borane, along with some other citizens of the United States, will meet with Mexican President Vicente Fox in Mexico City to discuss the problem. Borane said he hopes to have a chance to tell Fox the problems illegal immigrants coming into the United States are causing, not only along the border but in the heartland of the country.
Mexico can use its federal forces, including the army, more effectively, the mayor said. Fox will have to do more to work in concert with the American government, Borane said.
The lack of effective federal law enforcement along the border has left the door open for private groups to step in, both Borane and Dever said.
The American Border Patrol announced it will set up monitoring operations in Cochise County by Sept. 1 to inform the American people what is happening along the international boundary. The organization has said it will share its intelligence with federal agencies.
Borane said having a private organization come in to do the work the federal government should be doing is ridiculous.
"The (federal) government should be embarrassed that such a group is coming to help enforce federal immigration laws," he said.
Dever said there are many in the federal government who share, the blame for the area's border woes and that includes Congress.
The vacuum left by a lack of federal forces on the border is what is creating the need for untrained civilians to come to the area thinking they will help, the sheriff said.
One of the unanswered questions is what will trigger the request. Some federal officials say it would be a massive migration of illegals, not the day-to-day movement of people who cross the border illegally.
Do you get the feeling that John Ashcroft may be looking ahead at what will surely be a massive surge in illegal immigration when his boss signs the 245(i) Amnesty for illegal aliens after this year's election?
Much of what this good old boy was saying had merit until I got to this jewel. Un***king believable.
Guess we needn't ask what primary language this old boy's voting base speaks.
Maybe a solution might be to replace the elected sheriff with an appointed marshall.
Now that it's Bush and Ashcroft suddenly it's a no-no. He is shameless, but then again, he's a democrat so what else can we expect?
One way or another, he's going to "shoulder it." He's in the business of law enforcement, and when you look at the illegal aliens' propensity for crime, he's going to be involved - just in a different manner.
Absolutely, couldn't agree with you more. However, illegal immigration is at a crisis level. I don't want the local police to be INS agents either, just help out by detaining illegals till the INS can get there. They run across them everyday during their work. The federal government needs to do more, including putting military personnel at the border and hiring more field agents. But until they can do that, politicians like Borane should stop playing politics and the blame game and work together as a community.
Why not? Sounds good to me. ;^)
That probably didn't come out right but what I mean is Borane and others need to be more bipartisan on the issue.
I was to meet a friend of mine who is a Dallas police officer for lunch. He pulled up in front of another of my friends BBQ restaurant on schedule. But, the first words out of his mouth were "I'm afraid we are going to have to cancell lunch today". The radio was going crazy and the computer was approaching critical mass. I sat with him for almost 30 minutes before he found a call that he could take because all of the calls required 2 officers to handle. There were not 2 officers available. SAM (not his real name) had to drive all the way from Fair Park to the Turtle Creek area to handle a call regarding a homeless person. Probably by the time he got there the homeless person was gone. If I would have been SAM I think I would have told dispatch to handle the darn call themselves!!
The point I am making is that the Dallas police department is overworked, underpaid, understaffed, and out gunned. (That is the case in most major cities) Their response time to a call is horrific. And that is not their fault - you can't be in 20 places at the same time. So how can we place more work on these guys platter?
Thursday, Dever and Borane said it is not the responsibility of local law agencies to make up for the nation's failed border policies and to get the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the U.S. Border Patrol out of the trouble they created.
I have to agree. Our Dallas police force has enough problems arresting illegal aliens on assault, robbery, drug, rape, child abuse and molestation, and a laundry list of other charges to bail Bush, Ashcroft, and Ziglar out.
If I were the mayor of Dallas I would have to tell the feds that I would assist them whenever possible but that I would not change existing police policy to cater to their whims.
If this administration wants local law enforcement to assist in enforcing federal law then lets take back the billions of dollars that Bush just sank into an already failed public school system. Lets take back the 300 million or so dollars that he sank into Aids in Africa. Lets not increase foreign aid by 50% over the next three years. Lets use that money to fund our local police departments so they can be more effective. [/rant]
What about the massive influx of illegal aliens that is expected on August 23rd?
It would be an exercise in futility, not to mention a waste of money for state and local law enforcement to engage in assisting the INS if the border remained open. Most of these illegals just turn around and come right back in anyway. I think the pressure is growing everyday on Bush "to do something" about the border, he appears to be resisting the military at the moment, but that could change as voices grow louder in the country and Congress to put them there.
If the border is sealed, then I believe more than a few police departments would be receptive to the idea of aiding the INS. I do agree with you it is unfair to local communities to have to pick up the tab twice by the federal government's failure to have closed the border. But it's cheaper in the long run for them to do that then deal with the crime and incarceration costs of illegals.
This is not a two-sided argument, 100% of the blame goes to the federal government, which is why they have a responsibility to reimburse communities for the costs that are being imposed on them. The whole situation is a huge mess, there are no easy fixes, but in my opinion the federal government can't do it on its own, it will need the help of local police departments. There are simply too many illegals in the country, Uncle Sam would have to hire thousands of INS field agents to even begin to get a grip on the problem. It's either enforce the law or legislate another amnesty. The latter would be political suicide for Bush and the Republican party, not to mention the country.
They know perfectly well that the local governments in those border states don't have any money in their budgets for this.
What they're counting on is the voters in the rest of the country being pacified with legislation that they won't realize is meaningless.
Vote for us. We did this. Everything's under control.
Make no mistake about it, help is on the way!
Isn't that when Bush is scheduled meet Vicente Fox and his fellow banditos? Yeah, I see your point. When ol' Jorge starts running off the mouth about Amnesty it won't be too long before another stampede for the border occurs.
Excellent point.
Wait till those American patrol internet cams start showing the illegals getting through. I predict more private organizations will go down to the border to try and stop what's happening if the government won't.
I think the question that needs to be answered is, do we need an entire new government? One that will enforce the laws that they were elected to enforce and uphold?
Or do we just sit here, while these so called leaders allow this country to go to hell?
I agree, another good point....
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