Don't Profile Me By Treating Me Like Everyone Else!

A new program in Irving, Texas, ensures checks into the possibility of a person's illegal status whenever an arrest is made. That's racial profiling because they're doing it to everybody. You know, it's not nice to make an issue of things like committing crimes after entering our country illegally. You must be a racist to think this sort of treatment is OK:

http://www.star-telegram.com/629/story/248767.html

Quote:

According to Irving police, 1,373 people have been turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, this year, leading the Mexican and Salvadoran consulates and Hispanic activists to cry foul and accuse the city of racial profiling.

Only about four illegal immigrants were identified in the city jail a month before the Criminal Alien Program began in September 2006, according to information Police Chief Larry Boyd gave the City Council.

About 52 a month were being identified when the program started, and up to 130 were identified per month by April, according to the chief. Mayor Herbert Gears said up to 300 a month have been identified in recent months.

City and police officials have denied that they are engaging in racial profiling and said that all people arrested in the city are screened for possible referral to ICE when they are booked into jail.

Gears said most of the people turned over to ICE were arrested on suspicion of driving without licenses. Quintanilla and other activists said Hispanics and their neighborhoods are being targeted.

End quote.

You do know, don't you, that despite all the big noise in the news, that we *do* have illegal immigrants from places like China, Haiti and other countries, and Hispanics from Mexico are not the ONLY ones who could possibly be affected by a program like this. I think the real problem is that these measures were not taken decades ago, and we now have a sizeable illegal population that seems to feel entitled to stay. And this population is rather bold in demonstrating and claiming their "rights" too, aren't they?

I'll say this, though. I'm sure that an illegal immigration bust near the Mexican border would be more likely to turn up Mexicans immigrating illegally than a large, marauding gang of illegal Irishmen dealing potatoes and shamrocks on the black market (Hey, if I'm part Irish, I'm allowed to say silly stuff like that. I think it's in the PC code somewhere...)

And immigration is not going to be enough of a diplomatic issue between the US and Mexico, so long as "big business" profits from illegal labour and people who are opposed to large numbers of illegal immigrants continue to be painted as xenophobic racists with hound dogs and shotguns.

Just saying.

The shame is, there are many localities literally overwhelmed with immigrants and the federal government does nothing. The local governments sometimes try to alleviate the problem, and it comes off badly. Really, one wonders if the states can't sue the federal government for the cost their policies are burdening the individual state budgets.