Community Policing or Profiling?

The U.S. Department of Justice is floating a test balloon to gauge public reaction to a proposal that would allow local police departments to enforce federal immigration laws. Don’t settle for shooting down that balloon. Blast it out of the sky. The idea has been floated before. In 1998, Salt Lake City briefly considered signing onto a pilot project in which its police officers would be deputized to enforce immigration laws. The proposed pilot project sparked a firestorm, with the harshest criticism from Latino groups. Salt Lake City backed off, and no other city stepped forward.

The tragedy of Sept. 11 emboldened the DOJ to revive a bad idea whose time has not come. Understandably the feds want to explore every avenue for sealing the borders against suspected terrorists. With fewer than 2,000 agents, the Immigration and Naturalization Service is woefully understaffed to guard thousands of miles of artificial borders while also rounding up the estimated 8 million people illegally in this country.