[ravingnutter]

But ACLU, MeCHA, MALDEF and other radical leftist groups have continued their assault on our nation's borders seeking to further undermine its security, all the while aided by politicians elected by those same voters polled on the matter.

Speaking of the ACLU...wasn't sure if you were aware of this...

WASHINGTON [Aug 2002]- The Department of Justice -- through a regulation that goes into effect today - has gained the authority to deputize local and state police to enforce complex immigration laws, a move that the American Civil Liberties Union said is a sure-fire way to reduce immigrants' willingness to cooperate with authorities in the fight against terrorism.

"Enforcing immigration law is a full-time and highly technical matter and should not be the part-time obligation of our already overburdened state and local police," said Timothy Edgar, an ACLU Legislative Counsel. "Immigrants are not going to be overly thrilled about cooperating with police if they fear arrest for minor immigration violations."

The regulation that goes into effect today was initially conceived in the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act but was never put into effect. Attorney General John Ashcroft, however, has been all too willing to use immigration law as a pretext to target particular communities, the ACLU said.

Not surprisingly, even local and state police departments are wary about what federal deputizations will mean for their overstretched budgets. State police in Arizona and the local department in San Jose, California, have both made it clear that they will not participate in any immigration law enforcement.

Of ultimate concern to the ACLU and other groups is the broad language used in granting Ashcroft the authority to deputize local or state police for immigration duty. The provision grants the Attorney General authority only in an "immigration emergency" but does little to clarify exactly what such an emergency would entail. Under the current language, the Attorney General would have a free hand to use the new authority in an abusive, discriminatory and unconstitutional manner.

"In the atmosphere of heightened suspicion created by September 11, the Administration should be fostering ties to the immigrant community in America, not erecting walls of mistrust by threatening deportation every time a law-abiding non-citizen wants to report illegal activity," Edgar added.

Ashcroft Uses Local and State Police to Enforce Complex Immigration Laws; ACLU Warns Move Will Erode Immigrants' Willingness to Cooperate With Police

The Bush administration gets blamed for not rounding up illegals but is thwarted at every turn by local LEOs who refuse to uphold the law.

[skeeter]

State police in Arizona and the local department in San Jose, California, have both made it clear that they will not participate in any immigration law enforcement.

Sounds like the basis for a nice class action lawsuit. Since illegals are making up an increasing percentage of the number of inmates in CA jails it shouldn't be too hard to find crime victims willing to participate.

[Sabertooth]

The Bush administration gets blamed for not rounding up illegals but is thwarted at every turn by local LEOs who refuse to uphold the law.

Many politicians at the federal, state, and local levels are disinterested in upholding the law against Illegals. I live in Los Angeles, and the LAPD's Special Order 40, which prevents the police from making any residence status inquiry or taking related action, is one of the most egregious examples. It's one of the reasons we have over 100,000 Mexican gangsters (based on late 1990s LAPD Gang Task Force numbers) running round our city. The LAPD isn't even allowed to take Illegal Alien gangsters they encounter on the street into custody, even if the officers know they've been deported in the past and are now in felonious violation of their deportations.

You may remember that in California, we overwhelmingly passed Proposition #187 in 1994, which would have prevented Illegal Aliens from obtaining any state funds oir services. George W. Bush, in his maiden run for the the Texas Governorship, spoke against #187, and has proudly dones so since then.

Additionally, under President Bush, well over 100,000 Illegal Aliens have been able to walk out of their deportation hearings after their orders have been handed down, never to show up for their deportations. The Bush Administration doesn't even take the common sense step of holding these Illegals in custody pending their deportations.

I have nothing but contempt for the Los Angeles City Council and their pandering to Illegals, but it's also tough to make the case that President Bush has shown much leadership in enforcing the law against Illegals.