| Va.
Steps in Again Where Feds Fail |
| Virginia this week proposed building a jail specifically
for holding people who are in violation of federal immigration
law until such time as the federal government can get around
to processing their cases. |
| As has been the case over the past many years, the federal
government is becoming a wimp on immigration, choosing to
defer all decision-making and action-taking to the states
and localities. |
| Now we have Virginia deciding that the federal government
can use a new facility to house its detainees. And we're apologetic
about it. The chairman of the State Crime Commission, which
made the proposal on Tuesday, was quoted as saying that the
federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency isn't to
blame for its failure to control immigrants. |
| "It is not ICE's fault," said Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle (R-Virginia
Beach). "They are dealing with the resources they have. But
if Virginia wants ICE to be effective, we've got to find creative
ways for them to be effective." |
| What? If we want the federal government to be effective
we have to do the work? We have to pay the bill? |
| This latest proposal once again lets the federal government
off the hook. It attempts to take authority away from the
feds and give it to the states. While I'm all for state rights,
if I were President Bush I would bristle at the idea that
Virginia thinks it can do a better job than the federal government.
If I worked at ICE, I would be insulted. |
| Once again, the better solution is to have higher expectations
of the federal government. If it needs a detention center,
it should fund it. If we need better immigration controls,
the feds should provide them, and not expect us to do their
jobs. |
