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BradleySheriff.com
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SECURING OUR CITIZENS |
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Tuesday, 13 April 2010 |
As sheriff, I have always taken a pro-active position on illegal immigration. This includes anyone who enters our country without proper authorization, whether they be from south of the border, Asia, Europe or anywhere else around the globe. As a local government, we can’t do a lot to secure our national borders ~ that’s supposed to be the job of the federal government; but we can concentrate on securing our citizens and those of neighboring counties.
BCSO interdiction units are vigilant in watching traffic along I-75 though our county for human smuggling, drug trafficking, contraband, drunk drivers and other criminal activity. Just last week, one of our detectives observed a 2004 Dodge Caravan which appeared to be overloaded, weaving and following too close to another vehicle. The Caravan was pulled over near the Charleston exit for a routine traffic stop. The occupants turned out to be 12 Hispanic men and women who claimed to be traveling from Dallas, Texas to Pennsylvania.
This, in and of itself, is not illegal; however, they could not produce proper ID and it was discovered the vehicle had been red-flagged by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as having possibly been involved in human trafficking on another occasion. The occupants were transported to the ICE office in Chattanooga where it was determined they were here illegally and are now being held for deportation. Furthermore, the driver could face charges of human trafficking.
Since September 2006, anytime a person is arrested in Bradley County for a crime and their identity cannot be verified or is suspect, they are checked against our Criminal Alien Program (CAP) to determine citizenship or legal status. If they are found to be here illegally, they are turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation, upon the disposition of their court cases and their sentences completed.
The 12 people arrested in this latest incident brings the total number of illegals apprehended by the BCSO and turned over to ICE to 206. That may sound like a drop in the bucket compared to the 11 to 20 million aliens said to be in this country illegally, but it does reinforce the message that Bradley Country takes the problem seriously and is actively working to control it here in our area.
I have stated on a number of occasions that I believe in and support legal immigration. We are the land of opportunity and I cannot blame anyone who desires to come here and share in the American dream. But we are a nation of laws, and anyone wishing to immigrate here must do so legally. To ignore this problem increases the burden to our economy and our national security.
One thing this latest incident illustrates is that illegal aliens continue to pour into our country and the need to properly secure our borders is dire and immediate. With all the threats facing the nation from within and without, we must secure our borders and enforce our immigration laws with determination and vigor.
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