http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/754314,3_1_EL23_A1ILLEGAL_S1.article
New initiatives will improve law enforcement regarding immigrants
ELGIN — City officials said Tuesday they are going forward with measures aimed at tougher law enforcement of illegal immigrants.
Four initiatives will be implemented, including reinstituting the federal government’s E-Verify program — a free Web-based system that allows employers to check employees’ Social Security numbers with Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security databases to verify work status.
On Jan. 18, the city applied for participation in the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement’s Agreements of Cooperation in Communities to Enhance Safety and Security program, or ACCESS, which will allow local police to team up with federal law enforcement in as many as 13 programs geared toward addressing specific challenges within the community. These include crimes involving gangs, drugs or identification fraud.
Beginning March 1, Elgin police will expand its immigration screening to include all foreign-born arrestees booked in the Elgin jail by using the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement Agency’s electronic Immigration Alien Query system — a national database that provides information on all foreign-born arrestees.
Also, city contracts now will include provisions specifically calling upon companies to provide proof of the legal status of its employees.
“The steps we’re taking are reasonable and legal, whereas some of the suggestions some people have had are not legal or reasonable because the feds have struck them down,” Elgin Mayor Ed Schock said. “So I think we attempted to do what we can within those parameters of things being legal and reasonable.”
Schock said the initiatives formalized the responses given by members of the city council about seven suggestions proposed by a local group, the Association For Legal Americans, which advocates tougher illegal immigration enforcement.
The Courier News published the council’s responses to AFLA’s seven suggestions daily from Dec. 7 to 13.
Some of the proposed measures, including an official English-language law and towing vehicles where the driver did not show proof of liability insurance, were unanimously rejected, citing legal implications.
AFLA co-founder Doug Heaton praised the initiatives as a “significant step,” but said he would wait to see what kind of results were reaped from participation in the ACCESS program.
“One of the problems, I think, at the federal level has been laws on the books that have not been enforced,” he said. “ICE ACCESS could go in many directions, and some may not be very significant, and others could be very significant.”
Wouldn’t It be nice if government officials used the tools at their disposal without having to be pressured by it’s Citizens!
