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by Don Hunter - Sheriff, Collier County, Florida
I believe that domestic security is bound up in the immigration discussions and as a task force chair for the regional domestic security task force some comment seems prudent.
As a practicing criminologist, I recognize and subscribe to the concept of swift and certain punishment yielding deterrence. Failure to enforce existing law results in patterned evasion and flaunting of the law. We certainly see evidence that this has occurred with the existing Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA). Estimates are that we have accumulated at least between 12 million and 20 million illegal alien foreign nationals in this country.
Legislation has been posited on the proposition that we cannot deport such a large number of people. As a law-enforcement officer and elected official, I believe that this position is flawed. First and foremost, no one has relieved local, state and federal law enforcement of the responsibility to enforce all laws.
Posted by Richard at May 22, 2006