A Proper INS Presence in the Jails : Survey in Anaheim to detect illegal entrants should be continued

The debate over illegal immigration has led many to conclude that the safeguards we have now are not working, but there is little agreement on solutions. One thing that is agreed on is that the United States needs to treat fairly but firmly the immigrants who break its laws either by crossing its borders without documentation or by committing a crime once here.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service has just completed a two-month pilot program in which two INS agents were stationed at the city jail in Anaheim to survey everyone accused of a crime to see whether he or she was also in the country illegally. INS agents already screen inmates at the Orange County and Los Angeles County jails. Anaheim officials asked for INS help when they learned that more than 30% of those arrested in the city were illegal immigrants.

The pilot program’s purpose is to keep arrested people who are in the country illegally from being undetected and subsequently released during the legal process. Those acquitted of the charges that caused their arrests are deported. Those convicted will serve their time and then will be deported.

INS officials say preliminary findings indicate that that illegal immigrants usually committed nonviolent offenses such as burglary, not the violent, often gang-connected crimes that have chilled Southern California. Plainly, deporting illegal immigrants will not end crime. American citizens are responsible for most crimes in Anaheim. However, the pilot program has been a worthwhile attempt to see what works in controlling illegal immigration, an issue that burns brightly in California and elsewhere.

National and local efforts to reform immigration procedures and punish wrongdoers deserve encouragement, and we support them so long as they do not ride roughshod over individuals’ legal rights.