Pajamas Media
By working together, local and federal officers can better identify and remove criminal aliens — which is a tremendous benefit to public safety. — Immigration Customs and Enforcement
Last month, I met Arizona state Senator Russell Pearce, who drafted the state’s common-sense immigration enforcement law. He stressed that the nation needs immigration enforcement not just on the border, but in the interior as well. Over half the country’s illegal aliens entered through the Arizona border. Senator Pearce said he has listened to stories about families living on the border threatened by drug runners and gangs trespassing on their land. Some of these bold thugs even threatened to return and kill the families of anyone who calls the police. Earlier this year, an illegal alien murdered Arizona cattle rancher Robert Krentz on his property.
Arizona is one of 20 states that currently participates in the Immigration and Nationality Act’s 287(g) federal training program. Signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1995, the provision permits the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to enter into a written Memorandum of Agreement with state and local agencies to train and to deputize law enforcement officers to identify and detain illegal aliens.