Alien issue still remains
By Staff
And then there was illegal immigration, an issue that will not go away. An issue that does not belong on the agenda of the May 6 Town Council election. An issue that will be there nonetheless.
At a recent candidates forum, incumbents Chip Coleman, Chris Snider and Mike Olinger said a limited amount could be done at the local level because it was a federal issue for which there were federal laws.
The 10 challenging candidates – four seats are up for election – had no such united opinion. Their discussions spread across the topic, from a federal training program named 287)g) to enforcing a zoning ordinance that puts a cap on the number of unrelated adults living under one roof.
Candidates such as Jerry Beckett entered this political arena because of strong beliefs about ridding the town of people who are in the country illegally.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) grandly decided local law enforcement agencies needed to play a role in international criminal activity and terrorism. From that came the 287(g) section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that cleared a path for a memorandum of agreement between ICE and local law enforcement. That MOA makes it easier to detain suspected illegal immigrants until ICE authorities can gather them up.
Local officers receive the training needed to "perform immigration law enforcement functions." The local agency pays for the training and any other needs, such as office space. Local courts and public defenders handle the cases of aliens suspected of committing other crimes.
Six localities in Virginia have had officers go through the ICE training. Some of the localities claim they are going broke trying to handle the increased number of jail inmates and the case load added to local court dockets.
Anything being done at the local level costs money. Right now money, as in extra money to pay for training and facilities, is something Culpeper doesn't have.