[afropick]

Dont you agree that all the states need to give a hand in enforcing border laws. I read awhile back about certain cities refusing to turn in illegals who committed crimes over to the INS. If am wrong on that let me know, but if it is true all the wailing about Pres Bush not doing enough. I dont know if anything can be reasonably done in a country this size. That is why I want individual states to be on forefront. At least they should be able to know what is best for there area.

[Sabertooth]

Dont you agree that all the states need to give a hand in enforcing border laws. I read awhile back about certain cities refusing to turn in illegals who committed crimes over to the INS. If am wrong on that let me know,

You are correct, and my city, Los Angeles, is among the worst.

However, it's quite common that the INS ignored cooperative locals anyway.

In addition, immigration is fundamentally a matter of Federal jurisdiction, and the President is the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the land. He should be leading the locals, not waiting to be led.

Does the President really need local leadership to decide it's a good idea to take Illegals into custody who've already lost their deportation hearings, in federal immigration courts, pending their deportations?

Yet he hasn't, to the tune of 100,000 Illegal Alien absconders in just the period between January 2002 and July 2003.

but if it is true all the wailing about Pres Bush not doing enough.

See above point about jurisdiction.

Also recall that President Bush has opposed local measures to discourage Illegals, such as California's Proposition #187. He has a long track record of being soft on Illegals, and the dissatisfaction with him in this area did not arise overnight.