Opinion: A balanced voice on immigration and law enforcement in L.A. County

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

For the past four years, this nation has waged a sporadic, passionate, hyperbolic debate over how to respond to the presence of millions of people living and working here illegally. That debate has scrambled partisanship -- President Bush was among the foremost advocates of comprehensive immigration reform, joined by Wall Street conservatives and Democratic liberals and opposed by populist conservatives and organized labor. It has featured much rhetoric and anger but precious little of what is most needed: balance. The need for moderation on this issue -- which for the moment is waiting in line behind healthcare reform and global warming on the ambitious agenda of the Obama administration -- is underscored by a predicament facing Los Angeles County. On one hand, the county’s law enforcement agencies need the cooperation of illegal immigrants to identify and prosecute crimes; no one benefits if people who are in the country illegally are so afraid of the police that they refuse to turn in criminals or resist testifying. At the same time, some of those who enter or stay in the country illegally commit other, more serious, offenses while here, and they deserve aggressive investigation, prosecution and, if convicted, expulsion.

For the debate to progress, those who are angered by the presence of illegal immigrants must acknowledge that draconian enforcement of immigration laws can harm the rest of society, while those who sympathize with immigrants must acknowledge that some deserve to be deported and that every nation has the right to protect its border.

These tensions are highlighted in the latest report on the county jail system by Merrick Bobb, a special counsel who monitors the Sheriff’s Department for the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. It documents the struggles of sheriff’s officials to equitably distinguish between serious offenders and those whose only crime is illegal entry. It recognizes the value of deporting dangerous criminals, while cautioning that the county should not take on the job of enforcing federal laws. It credits the department with managing a clean, well-run detention center in Mira Loma, while warning against turning a facility that houses many asylum seekers into a jail, where those inside lack contact with families and limited access to judges.

Bobb’s report makes a number of recommendations for preserving and extending the protection of those who fall within the country’s custody. These recommendations deserve attention and action by the Board of Supervisors. But in a debate too often characterized by cries of racism, by shouted accusations on the floor of Congress and shrill opprobrium from both sides, the report’s most valuable contribution may be to stand for balance.

-- Jim Newton