KPC Media Group - Just Who Should Be "ICE'd"?

Op-Ed

KPC Media Group - Just Who Should Be "ICE'd"?

By Congressman Mark Souder

October 29, 2007

This column was first published by the KPC Media Group in the News-Sun (Noble & LaGrange Counties), the Evening Star (DeKalb County), and the Herald-Republican (Steuben County).

ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is the division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responsible for investigations. Whether the case involves illegal drugs, pirated goods, biological weapons, or illegal immigrants, ICE is DHS' lead investigative agency.

Earlier this month, I requested that a senior DHS official responsible for illegal alien deportation come to northeast Indiana to meet with local prosecutors and sheriffs to discuss how best to deal with illegal aliens.

Top DHS officials from Washington, Chicago and Indianapolis traveled to the meeting, which was attended by around 30 prosecutors, sheriffs, jail commanders and other designees from a number of counties (ranging from Fulton in western Ohio to Elkhart and Grant to Allen).

The meeting was designed to: (1) provide guidance to local officials on how to remove illegal aliens, and (2) help federal officials understand the challenges facing local prosecutors and sheriffs.

I believe it's clear that right now we need a targeted effort for dealing with illegal immigration.

Our first priority should be focusing on smuggling networks. I have introduced legislation in Congress that increases penalties for illegal alien smugglers to make it more worthwhile for federal prosecutors to pursue these cases. (Right now, it can take six months to get to trial, and yet prison terms can be less than six months in some cases.)

Another priority should be targeting "criminal illegal aliens," those who have committed crimes in addition to those crimes they committed when they entered the United States illegally.

At the October meeting, there were spirited exchanges regarding how best to accomplish these objectives, especially when misdemeanors are involved. But the bottom line is that, if they are called, ICE will deport any illegal alien arrested in our area.

One point raised was: What's stopping illegal aliens from simply re-entering the United States once they're deported? An illegal alien apprehended in Noble County, for example, returned two days after deportation. At the heart of this question is another: What's happening with the border fence?

Last week, a Homeland Security subcommittee held another hearing on the fence's status. As you may know, I cosponsored the Secure Fence Act, which was signed into law last year.

Overall the news is not good: fence construction is moving too slowly, and the administration is too enamored of virtual (i.e., electronic) fencing and not committed enough to actual (i.e., physical) fencing.

While neither type works perfectly, the best solution involves a combination of physical and virtual fencing—along with more Border Patrol agents (thousands have already been added). But a physical fence is most effective. Even if it can be climbed over or cut through, a fence slows down illegal aliens and makes it easier for the Border Patrol to track them down.

In my mind, the best news at the hearing was that, at least in the most heavily-trafficked areas in Arizona, we now have penalties for illegal re-entry: Returning illegal aliens are jailed upon their capture, and not just immediately returned to Mexico.

Clearly a long-term solution is needed. But in the short-term — by focusing on those who smuggle large groups of illegal aliens, supply counterfeit IDs, provide transportation, or commit additional crimes — we can at least begin to control who should be in the United States and who shouldn't. September 11, 2001, reminds us why that's so necessary.

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