During the coming year, the BCSO will continue our determined policy of identifying and dealing with all those in our community who break the law, including those who turn out to be here illegally. Every person who is arrested for a crime in Bradley County is checked for citizenship or legal status. If this cannot be verified through our Criminal Alien Program (CAP), they are turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation. The message is, Bradley County is not a sanctuary for anyone attempting to bypass or subvert our immigration laws.

The year 2008 is the first year the BCSO began keeping records of the number of illegals arrested in Bradley County. We will continue to keep track of those numbers in the future, but of those arrested for crime during 2008, the BCSO found 49 of them to be in the country illegally. They have all been turned over to ICE for deportation.

I understand that people of all nationalities seek to live in our great nation, and the BCSO does not single out any nationality for special scrutiny. We are not anti-immigration. On the contrary, I support and encourage legal immigration, with the emphasis on “legal.” I also support educational and work visa programs, and welcome all those who wish to make a life for themselves and their families in our country and our community if they follow the laws of our land. We are a nation of laws and those laws were designed and implemented at the will of the people. My job is to enforce the law.

As a former Secret Service agent and from my service on the Tennessee District III Homeland Security Council, I am especially aware of how important border security is to the safety and stability of our nation. We simply cannot allow the free, unfettered flow of people coming into this country illegally. Current estimates of illegal aliens into this country range from 11 to 20 million. Illegal immigration and national security go hand-in-hand, and the ramifications go well beyond Bradley County. International crime syndicates, terrorists and violent street gangs such as MS13 are well-positioned to take advantage of countries that fail to secure their borders, and they are doing so. National security dictates we must do a much better job securing our nation’s borders.

I have always believed that one of the first requirements of citizenship is to obey the laws of the land. When someone intentionally comes to this country in violation of these laws, they have failed one of the basic tenets for granting citizenship. The BCSO is doing everything legally possible to deal with the problem here in Bradley County. If you are dissatisfied with the illegal immigration policies of our state and nation, make your feelings known to your representatives in Nashville and Washington, DC.  They have a duty and responsibility to listen to you. This is still a government “of the people, by the people and for the people,” and as always, I will continue to do my part to represent your interests and make government work for you here in Bradley County.

In a world where chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons can be easily concealed and smuggled into the country, I cannot overstate how important secure borders and immigration enforcement is in protecting our safety and sovereignty as a nation.