| First time here and have read alot of comments about illegals in our community. To anyone with the time and political pull to fix this problem please read on.
In most cases, federal laws that bar illegal aliens from the United States and punish persons who smuggle, shelter, or employ or othewise assist illegal aliens can be enforced by local and state police.
State and local law enforcement officials have the general power to investigate and arrest violators of federal immigration statutes without prior Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) knowledge or approval, as long as they are authorized to enforce federal law in general. Although immigration is a federal matter, local law enforcement departments and personnel are not required to turn a blind eye to any illegal activity - including violations of immigration laws. It is illegal for local governments to prohibit police cooperation with the INS, and individual officers who report violations are protected by law.
Although the Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA) of 1996 provided new authority for empowering local law enforcement agencies to enforce immigration law provisions against aliens illegally in the country, local police were never powerless to act on immigration law violations before adoption of that legislation. Local police departments have always had the ability to collaborate with the INS in enforcement operations. An example was local cooperation with the INS and the FBI in locating and interviewing foreign students from Middle Eastern countries following the September 11 terror attacks.
In addition, Section 274(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) as amended in 1986, authorizes "...all other officers whose duty it is to enforce criminal laws," to arrest persons for smuggling, harboring or transporting illegal aliens. Futhermore, federal courts had repeatedly affirmed since 1984 that local police may inquire into immigration violations in the course of a routine stop (see e.g., U.S. v. Salinas-Caldron).
In 1996, Congress made several express grants of immigration law enforcement authority to state and local governments. The most important of the legislative actions was contained in IIRARA section 133, which authorizes the U.S. Attorney General (AG) to enter into written cooperative agreements with state and local governments to accept the services of state officers or employees in enforcing the INA. Under a "Section 133" agreement,state and local governments may designate officers or employees ("local officers") who will be authorized to "perform a function of [a federal] immigration officer in relation to the investigation, apprehension, or detention of aliens in the United States."
Upon approval of the cooperative agreement by the AG, the designated local officer becomes a limited federal immigration official. The designated local officer is subject to the "direction and supervision of the AG" while performing the immigration enforcement function and, if the written agreement so specifies, may use federal property and facilities to accomplish that function. While Section 133 emphasizes that the designated officer is not a federal employee, agreements created under this section may grant local officers all the powers exercised by federal immigration officers and provide that the designated local officer will enjoy federal immunity. However, the local officer must carry out their immigration functions at the expense of the state or local government.
This may have been long and boring to some of you but, it is a start on fixing the problems of illegal aliens in Dodge. The main problem in implimenting a pogram in Dodge would be attianing money and personnel from the city and/or county. I really doubt that our city fathers see illegal immigration as a problem. Therefore, if anyone dare tackle the job, most likely they would be dismissed as a lunatic.
I posted this some time ago on the dodgeglobe site. Just thought if you did not read it there you might find this interesting.
Mike B.  |