Our View: Strike Force a Good idea
The Standard Examiner
A new law that creates a strike force to investigate and prosecute felony crimes committed by or against illegal aliens can be an effective crime-fighting tool if law enforcement and the illegal immigrant community can trust each other.
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtliff deserves credit for trying to build that trust. Last week he gave assurances that the strike force will not target illegals who report crimes against themselves or provide information in other felony crimes. That promise must be kept. If it is not, the strike force will not be trusted by the community it serves and it will fail.
House Bill 64, which created the strike force, was sponsored by Top of Utah state Rep. Brad Dee, R-Washington Terrace. It's important to note that HB64 is not the same as Senate Bill 81. That measure, which becomes law soon, provides local law enforcement agencies the option to investigate immigration crimes.
In contrast, HB64's strike force will not turn in illegals for minor crimes, period. Its responsibiity is to deal only with major crimes.
We like the strike force for a pair of reasons. One is, its focus, which is on serious crimes that ultimately affect all of us. Any illegal alien who is committing felonies needs to be off the streets and punished. Second, it's a standard of living issue. All neighborhoods need to be as safe as possible for everyone.
While it is wrong, of course, to be here illegally, the hard truth is that many illegals come here for the sole purpose of trying to make a better life for themselves and their families. They live with the risks of being caught and deported every day. But that risk should not prevent them from getting help from law enforcement if they are the victims of a crime. We can't have crime victims afraid to trust law enforcement or afraid to go to the police for help.
Rep. Dee is correct when he described the strike force as as a sensible compromise between those concerned about illegal immigration and those concerned about the illegal alien community. The strike force, empowered to enforce only state laws, is headed by Ken Wallentine, the Utah AG's chief of law enforcement. Besides a dedicated prosecutor and other personnel, the force has six full-time investigators. It's funded through an $891,000 federal stimulus grant. That funding will run out next year and new revenue sources will have to be determined.
We hope the strike force has a long life. We need more programs that focus on stopping felons and achieving justice for their victims.
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