Mims, other law enforcement leaders press feds for immigration reform (Fresno Co. Sheriff)

The Fresno Bee ^ | May 12, 2015 | Michael Doyle

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WASHINGTON — • Between 10% and 15% of Fresno County Jail inmates are unauthorized immigrants

• Local law enforcement struggles with the cost of federal immigration laws

• A divided Capitol Hill signals that a quick fix isn’t likely

Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims on Tuesday joined other law enforcement officers at the White House in trying to make an arresting case for comprehensive immigration reform.

But with Congress stalled and immediate Capitol Hill progress extremely unlikely, Mims and her uniformed allies know they must aim long.

“We’re not as close as we have been in the past for Congress to take action,” Mims acknowledged Tuesday morning, “but the message today is, this is important.”

Mims participated in the afternoon White House session as part of the Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force, a group established in January to champion ambitious legislation that covers both border security and legalization.

The task force, in turn, is associated with the National Immigration Forum, an advocacy organization whose lobbying firm, The Raben Group, provided a base of operations Tuesday for the law enforcement officers.

The meeting, scheduled for 90 minutes on the third floor of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, adjacent to the White House, pointedly included the Obama administration’s chief immigration operators from Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske to Alejandro Mayorkas, deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security....

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“For a long time, we in local law enforcement have talked about the need for immigration reform.”

Instead of doing OUR JOB AND ARRESTING THEM!