Illegal Immigration and State Police...

Governor Romney made a deal with the Feds to allow state troopers to check on the immigration status of individuals the contact in otherwise routine situations. One of the major problems with our current immigration system is the failure to coordinate local and federal law enforcement activity (I would add this is also a huge national security problem).

Hypothetical #1: Person is caught prowling around a neighborhood late at night. They have no ID. Officers talk to them but can't prove any crime. Person is let go. Wouldn't you want to check on the immigration status of this person first?

Hypothetical #2: Person is caught trying to run out of a Best Buy with a Xbox 360. They have no ID. They are relased with a signed citation to appear in court rather than being booked into jai. Wouldn't you want to check their immigration status before letting them go?

Hypothetical #3: Officers pull someone over for speeding and they have no driver's license, no insurance, and they are discovered to be under the influence of alcohol. They are subsequently booked into jail. Isn't it obvious that you would want to check on the immiration status of this person?

There are basically three situations when you would want to check on immigration status for various reasons. First, when you don't have anything to arrest a person you are highly suspicious of such as in hypothetical #1. Second, when you are going to let someone go with a signed citation, rather than actually booking them into jail for an offense, such as hypothetical #2. Three, when you are going to book someone into jail, but they are likely to get out very quickly before an ICE hold can be put on them or perhaps ICE won't discover they are there and won't put a hold on them, such as in #3.

Simply put, being able to check on the immigration status of the people police contact makes sense from a law enforcement standpoint and from an immigration enforcement standpoint. Not only should state troppers be allowed to do this, Federal Legislation requiring local law enforcement to check in many instances would be appropriate.