George Putnam
Sunday, May 16, 2004

It is this reporter's opinion that we face a nationwide crisis, with immigration laws completely out of hand and local law enforcement looking the other way in refusing to confront millions of illegal aliens invading America.

Whether it's Dearborn, Mich., or Los Angeles, Calif., too many officials are criticizing federal efforts that would require local police to assume a major role in enforcing federal immigration laws.

Let's face it: Greater efforts by local police would enhance the enforcement of our ungainly immigration laws. The fact is there are too few federal immigration agents pursuing some half-million illegals with standing deportation orders.

Those opposed to bills pending in Congress that would require police to play a larger role say that such crime-fighting relationships would destroy the trust in community policing they have developed over the years. What trust? With illegal aliens who violated our sovereignty when they invaded our porous borders?

The job of immigration authorities is not to assure illegal aliens that they can work and travel without fear of arrest or deportation; their job is not to make life easier for illegal aliens and their advocates, but to protect our nation and its citizens.

In Los Angeles I have met five chiefs of police in 50 years. The most recent is Chief William Bratton, whom we inherited from New York. Amazing as it may seem, Bratton actually supports Special Order 40, a police mandate that does not allow LAPD officers to inquire about the immigration status of criminal aliens.

Chief Bratton also supports LA's official recognition of the unverifiable Mexican Matricula I.D., in spite of testimony by the assistant director of the FBI's office of intelligence who says the card is not a reliable means of identification. And Chief Bratton supported the recalled Gov. Davis' signing of a driver's license bill for illegal aliens who would not have to pass background checks. But that's LA.

The whole issue becomes insane when we see an administration official and a U.S. congressman actually take pains to publicly assure illegals that they have no plans to enforce the laws they're sworn to uphold.

Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., head of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, has called for a White House investigation into public statements made by Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE) agent in charge Joseph Webber and U.S. Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, that they have no plans to arrest, deport or in any way hassle the scores of aliens illegally living and working in the Houston area.

Perhaps there may be some hope in our continuing battle against this overwhelming invasion by illegals. Recently, Rep. John Culberson, R-Texas, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, has proposed legislation to stop the pay of federal bureaucrats who refuse to enforce our immigration laws.

Says Culberson: "I will do everything in my power to change federal law so that any federal official who does not enforce immigration law doesn't get paid. And that's just for starters." Culberson and Tancredo and a few others are now getting tough.

Additionally, California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican, has put forth HR 3722, which would require hospitals to report illegals seeking medical treatment. The bill, known as the Undocumented Alien Emergency Medical Assistance Amendment, aims to correct what the sponsor calls "the worst excesses of congressional actions favoring illegal aliens." Rohrabacher's bill would supersede an existing federal law that prohibits hospitals from asking patients about their immigration status.

Says Rohrabacher, "If we know that [illegal aliens are] in the U.S. consuming resources, that are taking health care resources away from our people, they should be deported and their own country should take care of them."

Make no mistake about it; we're talking about big money being spent on illegals, who in California have an open-ended tab on health care that is costing Los Angeles County more than $333,000,000 annually. Of the 800,000 indigent and uninsured served in LA County last year, 30 percent to 40 percent were illegals.

It's time for law enforcement, from the lowest cop on the beat to the chief law enforcement officer of the U.S., to enforce our immigration laws. Rep. Culberson has it right: Enforce immigration laws or lose your pay!

Related Link:

http://www.theorator.com/bills108/hr3722.html

The legendary George Putnam is 89 years young and a veteran of 69 years as a reporter, broadcaster and commentator ... and is still going strong on KSPA-AM, 12 noon to 2 p.m. Pacific Time - simulcast all over the world on the CRN Radio Network.

Click here for George's complete bio.

Editor's note: