[Marine Inspector]

In the past several years since Ashcroft, not Bush, allowed local law enforcement to enforce certain immigration laws, the DOJ has trained a whole 6 local LEO's in Florida.

[bayourod]

During the confirmation hearings on Gonzales it came out that he was the one who wrote the official executive branch opinion that reversed the Clinton White House opinion that said only federal officers were authorized to enforce immigration laws. Glad to hear Ashcroft supports it.

The fact that only 6 have been trained so far could mean several things:
1. Very few local governments want immigration laws enforced.
2. Very few local governments are willing to allocate funds for immigration law enforcement.
3. The Buchanan/Tancredo anti-Bush crowd doesn't really want immigration laws enforced, they just want an excuse to bash Bush.
4. Local police don't want to create bad relations with Hispanic locals.
5. Government grants haven't been made available.
6. Illegal immigrants aren't considered a problem by very many local police departments.
7. Politicians who demand the deportation of illegals really mean they want other states' illegals deported, not the ones in their state who are keeping their economy alive.

But I think its PUT UP OR SHUT UP TIME for the smarmy Congressmen on the Immigration Reform Caucus. If they are serious about deporting illegals and sanctioning employers they should start in their own districts first. I would love to see the members of the caucus in my area try to get local law enforcement agencies to raid employers of illegals. It would be their last term in Congress and they know it.