| Politico says cops are lazy |
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| Written by APB Staff |
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The new state law bars illegal immigrants from receiving public benefits, and makes it a felony for anyone to employ, transport or harbor such individuals. The politicians have wasted no time cashing in on the general public’s concern about issues related to immigration, and as is usually the case with emotionally charged issues, the cops get left holding the bag when it’s time to answer hard questions. Law enforcement leaders from across the state say it’s going to be next to impossible to enforce the law. As is usually the case, it boils down to money. They have enough trouble enforcing existing laws, and adding the immigration law into the mix is quite frankly more than they can handle. Ask almost any police chief or sheriff, regardless of their personal views on immigration, and they’ll tell you the same thing about the “get-tough” approach in Oklahoma. “Another unfunded government mandate,” was Lawton Police Chief Ronnie Smith’s description in an interview with reporters. Even if they did take all illegals into custody, it’s not like they have any place to put them. “We wouldn’t have a big enough place to put them – if we rounded up 50 or 100 we wouldn’t have a place to put them,” says Smith. More often than not, Chief Smith says ICE – the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office – won’t come and pick up illegals in custody. Instead, they opt to turn them loose if they haven’t committed any other crimes. Jackson County has one of the largest Hispanic populations in the state. Jackson County Sheriff Roger Levick says there’s no doubt many are here illegally. “They’re hard-working decent folks trying to make a living for their families. They’re doing jobs you can’t get anyone else to do,” he says. The co-author of the immigration bill says the opinions of police about the wisdom of the approach just don’t matter. He also insinuates that making the law work is not a question of available funds, but rather getting lazy police officers to do some work. State Representative Randy Terrill of Moore says the law has passed and now it’s up to police to enforce it. He says he finds it troubling that law enforcement would be complaining about doing their job. “I’m not complaining about doing my job,” says Levick. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites          Comments (2)
  written by Ionestruk, December 28, 2007
This article is quite vague. What did Terrill say exactly?
If anyone would like to contact Terrill, by the way, his office number is 405-557-7346 and his e-mail is randyterrill@okhouse.gov. Write comment
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In Oklahoma, state officials want to win the race to become the toughest state in the union when it comes to illegal immigration. So far there’s just one minor problem – Oklahoma officers say there is currently no way they can enforce the state’s new landmark immigration bill.
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It starts with a bogus headline that is attention-grabbing yet completely disingenuous. Funny how most officers don't like it when the drive-by media do this sort of smear job on law enforcement, yet we find the very same nonsense in a police publication about someone advocating the enforcement of immigration laws. The problem with the tabloid headline is it is wholly unsupported by the "facts" outlined in the article. Rep. Terrill never said cops were lazy, so dispense with the knee-jerk wagon-circling already. Since he couldn't quote Rep. Terrill saying any such thing, the writer resorted to claiming it was "insinuated" but neglected to say how.
Your writer is obviously out of touch with the sentiment on the ground in Oklahoma among patrol officers on the front lines. They want illegal alien laws enforced - it is the lily-livered administrators and their sanctuary city bosses that philosophically object to it. One was quoted in an Oklahoma newspaper saying his agency wasn't going to enforce the new law in Oklahoma, which was what prompted the comments by Rep. Terrill. He was referring to administrators that are handcuffing their front line guys from enforcing the law - he was not referring to patrol officers. What part of illegal don't these politically-ambitious administrators understand?
For those interested in reading the other side of this topic for some balance, I would suggest a website by a former Oklahoma State Trooper at www.outragedpatriots.com.
It was interesting your unnamed staff writer either didn't know the context or chose not to tell the full story. Either way, it was a disservice to APB readers and the very serious topic of illegal immigration.