"Illegal" In '08 = Gay In '04

(Though I suppose, if you’re a Repug, demonizing either group is always “in play” – the first word is in quotes because I’m trying to cover myself in case anyone wants to “flame” me over not saying “undocumented,” though they probably will anyway.)

This news release from his office tells us the following about Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher (pictured above with former Repug U.S. House Rep. Anne Northup – h/t McClatchy)…

In a continuing effort to protect the public, (Fletcher) has notified federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials that Kentucky wants authority to verify the immigration status of foreign-born felons in Kentucky prisons.

Governor Fletcher made the request in a letter dated September 14 to ICE Assistant Secretary Julie L. Myers. The letter proposes that Kentucky be allowed to participate in a detention and removal program under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Well, the problem is that states and localities really don’t have the capability to act like pseudo-INS agents, as noted here (including this excerpt)…

At the federal level, there are conflicting signals as to whether state and local police have the authority to arrest persons for violations of immigration law. A published 1996 Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel memo states that local police have the authority to arrest persons only for criminal immigration violations. A 2002 unreleased memo from the same office states that police have the authority to make arrests for criminal and civil violations.

Still more complication is added with the overlay of state and local ordinances. Some states and localities authorize the enforcement of immigration laws, others do not authorize it, and some prohibit their police agencies from enforcing immigration laws. Enforcement of such complex and ever-changing laws requires not only weeks of training and continuing education, but knowledge of case histories and files that only the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has. Attempts to enforce immigration laws have made local police vulnerable to civil rights lawsuits, particularly when they arrest someone who is not undocumented or use racial profiling to determine who to scrutinize.

In fact, scores of cities, counties, and even states have policies in place that explicitly limit their police departments’ ability to coordinate with federal immigration authorities outside of criminal investigations. They have these policies in order to enhance public safety. Why is that? Because when immigrant community residents begin to see state and local police as deportation agents, they stop reporting crimes and assisting in investigations. The fear of deportation for them or their family members often silences them from reporting abuses, making it more difficult for police to effectively do their jobs. It is the need to protect the whole community effectively that has led scores of police departments to reject policies that would expand their role in federal immigration law enforcement, policies which have been promoted increasingly since the September 11th terrorist attacks.

I guess this is the sort of move that you pull when you know you’re going to get wiped out in the general election shortly by Dem challenger Steve Beshear (as noted by any one of the stories available from this link – and that pesky indictment against Fletcher for conspiracy, official misconduct and political discrimination isn’t helping a bit, I’m sure).

Still, it’s nice to see how Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao is tied to this guy like the proverbial anvil to a drowning man (and what else can we expect from a state that actually returned Jim Bunning to the Senate three years ago?).