Immigration Status an Important Question

Washington, DC (TLS). Let me present a hypothetical situation for a moment. In a small town in America a local police officer spots a group of persons of Hispanic descent traveling in a small auto that is seen running a red light. The officer turns on his blue light and pulls over the auto.

He asks to see the driver's license of the driver, but the driver does not understand his question, and says something in Spanish. The officer does not understand Spanish, so he shows the driver an example of what he's looking for. The driver indicates he has no such thing.

Thus, the officer has on his hands a situation where a car-full of Hispanics who do not speak English not only run a red light but do not possess a driver's license. He suspects that they are illegal aliens, but he is forbidden by his department from asking such a question.

What does the officer then do? Write a ticket? Allow them to continue driving after the ticket is issued? Take them in to the police station? Place them under arrest?

So far the charges against them are that they ran a red light and have no license to drive. These are not considered crimes but misdemeanors which are normally handled with much leniency.

Yet the officer knows that since no one in the group has a driver's license he will probably never see or hear from them ever again. Yet if he takes them into the police station for questioning, not only has he done more than one would do under normal conditions such a this, but in order to get at the heart of the matter, the subject of immigration status will come up. But he is not allowed to go there. Thus, his hands are tied.

My friends, this is precisely the predicament in which many law enforcement officials find themselves across America today. In many municipalities, such as New York City, officers are forbidden from inquiring about immigration status. In some school districts across the nation, immigration status cannot be asked of those who apply for jobs within those districts--as a matter of district policy.

Yet the United States Code specifically refers to the aiding and abetting of illegal aliens as a felony. A FELONY.

How on earth can one determine if someone has committed a felony if one cannot even inquire about the immigration status of the person in question?

And this is precisely the root of the problem. If you can't ask, then that lets off the hook any American who hires or otherwise aids and abets illegals. They can claim they did not know. How? Because their government is giving them a way around being charged with a felony.

Yes, their own government is encouraging citizens to engage in behavior that is described as a felony in the U.S. Code.

Any municipality, state, or school district that forbids inquiring about immigration status should be sued. Possible criminal charges should be brought against officials within those entities who proposed and implemented these felonious acts.

So far, the Bush Administration has done just enough window-dressing to claim it is doing something about the problem, such as the border fence, rounding up groups of illegals here and there. But it has failed miserably to attack the problem at its root--the government's own unwillingness to go after municipalities, school districts, and big businesses (and even some small businesses) that engage in aiding and abetting illegal aliens.

It is asinine to disallow law enforcement officers to inquire about the immigration status of persons living within that municipality. It is worse than asinine for a school district to hire persons without any verification of their immigration status. And it is a stinking, rotten travesty for American companies to get away with hiring persons who are known illegals, when federal law clearly prohibits it.

People who commit felonies should be prosecuted.

Why are we not doing it?

Who is encouraging doing nothing about it?

The LAW states these people are committing felonies.

They should be hauled to jail and charged with aiding and abetting illegal aliens under the provisions of the U.S. Code, which refers to their actions as a felony.