Two fairly recent press releases from ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) deal with a series of successful field operations in California and Texas. The most recent was published on February 26th of this year, while the other was published in December of 2009. They are significant because they show how ICE can, when working synergistically with other law enforcement agencies, perform a vital function for our nation and our citizens by removing criminal aliens from our midst. I'd like to point out other items that may not be immediately obvious.
Some of the criminal aliens who were arrested were citizens of African and Middle Eastern countries. Considering the close call on Christmas Day of last year at the hands of a Nigerian citizen when an airliner was nearly destroyed as it prepared to land in Detroit, note that a number of the aliens who were arrested in these publicized field operations were apparently citizens of "Special Interest" countries - those that have ties to terrorist organizations. Both California and Texas are border states and while the information contained in the press released failed to identify the specific countries the aliens came from, it would be interesting to know if they entered the United States via the inspections process or by running our nation's borders. I am willing to bet that at least some of these aliens had run the border, making it clear that the porous nature of our nation's borders provide access to aliens who are not simply intent on doing menial jobs in the United States.
Also, criminal aliens who are deported and unlawfully reenter the United States can be subject to a maximum of 20 years in prison for the single crime of felony reentry. This particular point provides me with a great deal of satisfaction because I coordinated an effort in the early 1980s to convince then New York Sen. Al D'amato to rewrite the immigration laws to distinguish aliens who had been convicted of felonies who are deported and subsequently reenter the United States unlawfully from aliens who have no such previous criminal histories. This is not about patting myself on the back, but rather to show how laws can be written to deal effectively with important issues that threaten national security and the safety of our citizens.
Additionally, it is important to consider the mention of the 287(g) program at the conclusion of these press releases and the fact that ICE acknowledges that:
"...Sadly, many of the people victimized by aliens who commit crimes are other members of the immigrant community, who are following the rules."
When criminal aliens enter our country, all who live in the United States are placed at risk, but the risk is often greater for the immigrant community.
This why it is astounding that the open borders advocates often vilify those of us who seek to insure our nation's borders are secure and the immigration system has integrity by referring to us as being "anti-immigrant."
I am also at a loss to understand how anyone in the law enforcement profession could possibly oppose the effective use of the immigration laws to thwart the efforts of criminal aliens who are operating, often with near impunity, in communities across our country.
The 287(g) program, under which local law enforcement officers are trained to identify criminal aliens, could be a force multiplier for ICE and the involved police departments. Here are 7 reasons why local law enforcement should welcome the advantages that the 287(g) program would provide:
Access to immigration files can provide investigative leads when a criminal alien is being sought as a fugitive or a suspect of a crime.
Access to immigration files can also provide vital information to a judge when a criminal alien is arrested and the judge is attempting to set the appropriate bail. The immigration file can provide documented evidence of risk of flight based on numerous identities the defendant may have previously used, occasions when the defendant jumped bail in an immigration matter and filed to appear for an immigration hearing. The file can also provide evidence of prior deportations. This could help to prevent those tragedies in which a criminal alien is arrested and then released on bail, only to commit another heinous crime while out on bail.
If a plea bargain is being arranged, local and state prosecutors should work in close cooperation with federal immigration counsels to make certain that in the process of working out a plea-bargain agreement that they don't inadvertently eliminate a conviction for a crime that would render the alien deportable.
Working cooperatively with ICE, it would be easier to cultivate informants. Informants are often essential to the successful investigation and prosecution of criminals and criminal organizations as well as terrorists and their associates. The immigration laws provide a huge "carrot" as well as a huge "stick" to this end.
There are a number of laws that can be used to hammer criminal aliens under the federal code. For example, the penalty for an illegal alien found to be in possession of a firearm carries a 10 year penalty. There are other such laws to be found in the federal code that deals with the possession and use of false identity documents and for the crime of unlawful reentry after deportation. A criminal alien who is deported from the United States and then reenters the United States with the authority of the government faces a maximum of 20 years in jail.
When an alien is convicted of a felony and when state and local law enforcement authorities work in close coordination with federal immigration authorities, a detainer can be lodged to make certain that upon release from custody when the criminal alien's sentence is completed, the criminal alien will face deportation (removal) from the United States.
There are instances when it is advantageous to the investigation to arrest a key individual(s) without alerting other members of the criminal or terrorist organization he is a part of, that the entire organization is being investigated. In such instances, it is often easy to find of violation of the immigration laws to enable law enforcement to arrest these individuals for administrative or criminal violation of the immigration laws, thus not alerting their cohorts to the larger, on-going investigation.
While I'm pleased to report the successes of ICE personnel, it is vital to think about how many more such success stories there would be if ICE had an adequate number of special agents and support personnel dedicated to looking for criminal aliens who imperil our nation's security and the safety of our citizens. We have seen where troop surges have been highly effective in our military efforts overseas and I can assure you that if ever their was a need for a "troop surge," it would be in the Border Patrol and within the ranks of the ICE special agents right here in the United States of America!
In order to combat crime, the criminals not only need to face possibility of being prosecuted for violating our nation's borders and laws, they also need to understand that they face a real probability of being caught, prosecuted and punished appropriately.
For our government to fail to deploy an adequate number of ICE personnel to combat the threats posed by aliens involved in terrorism, drug trafficking and other crimes is the equivalent of not allowing a baseball team to have its outfielders take to the field when the other team is at bat.
Similarly, without an adequate number of ICE special agents who are provided with necessary resources, any alien, including those engaged in criminal or even terrorist activities simply need to get past the Border Patrol or the inspections process at a port of entry to be virtually home free.
Nothing less than the safety of all who live in our nation is on the line, along with the security of our nation.
---------------------------------------------
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Michael Cutler is a Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies and a recognized authority who addresses the implications of immigration on national security and criminal justice. Feedback: editorialdirector@familysecuritymatters.org.
