Catching illegal immigrants: At what cost?
The Los Angeles Times sang praises this week for local immigration sweeps targeting gang members. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehended 28 suspect foreign nationals; among them was a man whose criminal record includes drug dealing and assaulting a police officer, and who had been deported five times previously
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But in New York, officials criticized ICE’s “cowboy” mentality and described its efforts as botched at best. On Long Island, the Nassau County Police Commissioner refuses to cooperate further with them. He says agents mistakenly pointed weapons at police and carried outdated information for targets. Several Hispanic families say they’ve been wrongly terrorized, their homes broken into more than once in some cases. And though Feds insist many of those arrested last month have gang ties, Nassau officials said this was only true for eight of 92 arrested in the county.
Federal agents’ attempts to crack down on illegal immigrant street crime should not be used as an excuse to invade the homes of innocent people. Some might argue that the ends justify the means, and that the problems in N.Y. are the price paid for successes like L.A. But this equates to sacrificing the rights and privacy of all citizens for the ability to catch a handful of criminals.
whereIstand Tags
October 14th, 2007 at 1:33 am
Thanks, I appreciate the comment.