AG: Cops must ask suspects for immigration status

Attorney General Anne Milgram today ordered all local police officers in New Jersey to inquire about the immigration status of suspects charged with serious crimes, and to notify federal immigration authorities if there is reason to believe the suspect is in the country illegally.

The requirements, which go into effect immediately, apply to suspects arrested for specific indictable offenses and for driving while intoxicated, Milgram said. If the suspect is unable to prove he or she is legally in the United States, the police officer is required to notify Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, she said. The policy also specifies that prosecutors and courts be notified.

Why shouldn’t such commonsense rules apply to all arrests in all states? Why is it left up to individual AGs to call for this, and why apply it only in some cases?

We hear from our leaders that they don’t have the resources to seek out illegal aliens. They say absurd things like, "We don’t have 12 million handcuffs." But they already have some of the worst aliens in handcuffs. All they have to do is make the same sort of check Bush’s recent "crackdown" requires of employers.

Why does the Bush administration require employers to check workers but doesn’t require law enforcers to check criminals?

NJ’s action will likely be attacked and thwarted by the usual legal 5th columnists. Gonzales may even step in – against NJ. And even if the rules stand, and even if they are copied by other states, why should anyone expect ICE to deport the illegal aliens referred to them? Given their performance so far I think we can safely expect a whole lotta nothing.

How did we get here? Well it has more than a little to do with the traitorous sentiments of government officials with regard to so-called sanctuary cities:

In Newark and other cities with large immigrant populations, officials note that detectives investigating robberies, rapes and murders already are struggling to develop informants among a population fearful of the police. Adopting the role of immigration cops would make that job even tougher and allow criminals to go free and commit even more crime, they have said.

"I do not want to create a chill in my community where people are afraid to come forward to police and report crimes," Newark Mayor Cory Booker said last week. "Undocumented immigrants and immigrants within our city are an important part of our fabric. And my police department, it is not their role or responsibility."

About one in five of New Jersey’s 8.7 million residents was born in other countries, according to U.S. Census figures. The state is also home to an estimated 450,000 illegal immigrants.

Note the illogic. Adding an immigration status check to the booking process won’t turn detectives into "immigration cops", and deporting illegal alien criminals would surely reduce crime not "allow criminals to go free and commit even more crime". Why in the world aren’t the mayor and his unnamed "officials" more concerned about the safety of the legal residents than they are about frightening illegal aliens?

Beyond the faulty reasoning behind sanctuary policies, why does our Executive Branch tolerate their open defiance of federal law? If an example was made out of one sanctuary city (I nominate Newark) many of the rest would quickly fall into line.

"Immigration enforcement" has become an oxymoron. Our leaders prove it by their unwillingness to stop even the most flagrantly illegal activity. They make excuses for violent criminals. And when they act they deliberately get their priorities backward. It would be a farce if it weren’t for the tragic consequences.

If we don’t take urgent steps to repulse this invasion it will doom us to the dustbin of history. What hope can we have when our leaders, many of whom have sworn to protect our people and uphold our constitution, betray us and side with the invaders?