Marietta Daily Journal
Editorial
Sunday, October 18, 2009

Illegal Immigration
October 18, 2009

Are Cobb’s police and sheriff’s deputies engaged in a rampant pogrom-style campaign to target illegal aliens for deportation? So it would seem, if you were to believe the accusations in a report released last week by the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia.

That report argued that “unchecked police power (under the 287(g) program) is tearing families apart in Cobb.”

“Cobb County residents who appear to be foreign-born have been subjected to rampant racial profiling and are routinely picked up by the police for minor or nonexistent violations,” it reported.

The report was released the same week that Sheriff Neil Warren signed a new agreement with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency that updates the 1996 federal Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, including the controversial section 287(g). That section enhances the ability of local law enforcement agencies around the country to assist the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in locating and deporting people here illegally who are arrested for other serious crimes.

Warren was the first sheriff in Georgia to make use of the program, which has been successful that three other counties are now using it, including Gwinnett.

But amnesty advocates have never liked the program and are willing to go to just about any length to see it gutted. And as evidenced in the ACLU report, one of their favorite tactics is accusing the sheriff’s department of racial profiling. Like many on the Left, their favorite tactic when the law and logic are not on their side is to accuse their opponents of racism.

Warren continues to forcefully deny such allegations.

“We are not profiling,” he said. “We have no formal complaints of profiling. If I had any idea that any of my officers or any officer of any other agency were targeting any group of people, I would deal with it both professionally and legally. I just don’t see it.”

Added Cobb Police Chief G.B. Hatfield, “We follow Georgia law, and the law’s very clear – if you get stopped for any violation, you must have a valid driver’s license. If an officer stops an individual and they cannot produce a valid driver’s license, and the officer can’t determine if they have a license, can’t establish where they live or who they are, that officer cannot just give them a ticket and let them drive off. We have a duty to protect other motorists.”

“It’s impossible to respond to claims that we’re profiling if they don’t give us a chance to investigate that claim. We do not profile, and we do not tolerate profiling.”

Moreover, it’s absurd on its face to think that a county government adminstered over by an African-American, county manager David Hankerson, would encourage or permit its police or sheriff’s deputies to engage in racial profiling.

Warren’s office has identified more than 6,600 inmates who were in the country illegally since July 2007.

“Immigration is a federal issue,” the sheriff added, “but when illegal aliens come into our community and commit a crime, it becomes a local issue.”

The 287(g) program has broad support in Cobb County and is being effectively, and legally, implemented. It should stay in place, and the sheriff and other county officials deserve plaudits for sticking with it.

HERE