Illegal Immigrants Taken Into Custody
This morning, officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety stopped a van for routine traffic violations in Canton, Texas. Upon inspection of the van, DPS officers began to suspect that the occupants of the vehicle were illegal aliens. At that time, the officers contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and immigration officials were at the scene within twenty minutes.
The occupants of the van were questioned as to their immigration status in the United States. It was determined that the nineteen occupants of the van were all in the U.S. illegally and entered the U.S. from Mexico.
All occupants of the van have now been taken into custody by immigration officials, and the U.S. Attorney's office has accepted the case and will prosecute the driver of the van. Some of the occupants of the vehicle will be allowed to remain in the U.S. temporarily in order to act as material witnesses against the driver; the other illegal aliens will be processed to return to Mexico.
This is an example of a growing debate in Texas -- should state or local police officers have the authority or the responsibility to check the immigration status of people they encounter. Many conservatives think the police should do this. The other side of the argument is that illegal immigrants will be afraid to report crimes, even violent crimes, if they think the investigating officers will have them deported. This fear could lead directly to a much higher crime rate, as criminals will believe their crimes won't be reported to authorities.
