“Border Security and Crime” Panel Discussion Tells the Truth – Every County is a Border County
Earlier this month it was my great honor and pleasure to moderate the Border Security and Crime Panel Discussion sponsored by my office, the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federation for American Immigration Reform. National experts, law enforcement chiefs, and people directly impacted by illegal alien crimes all discussed the links between border security and other illegal activity, including drugs and gangs.
One clear message emerged from the discussion -- as President Trump has declared, there is a crisis at our border that must be addressed.
Panelists were:
Matthew O’Brien, Director of Research, Federation for American Immigration Reform
Jessica Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies, Center for Immigration Studies
Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, Frederick County, Maryland
Marla Wolff and Arlene “Bubbles” Cohen, Angel Families
I will follow up in future days and weeks about specific points made during the discussion. Our expert panel touched on a number of facts that help explain our current border crisis, however.
Jessica Vaughan reported that drug trafficking, gang activity, identity theft, and document fraud are all directly traceable to illegal immigration. Border security is critical to the safety of our local communities. We are in a crisis of “epic proportions,” one that is too big for any one agency to solve on its own. She reminded us that cooperation between federal and local law enforcement is not just helpful, it’s necessary.
Matthew O’Brien called illegal immigration the most significant threat to America’s national security. We are an easy target for terrorists and foreign intelligence operatives. He emphasized that we don't need to shut our borders, but we do need to be very careful about who we are letting in, and maintaining control of our borders.
Marla Wolff and Arlene Cohen are members of probably the only group in the world that no one wants to be in. Angel Families is a national organization of relatives of victims killed by illegal aliens. Ms. Wolff and Ms. Cohen courageously shared how their loved ones, Carlos Wolff and Sander Cohen, were killed by an illegal alien. For them, the argument about who commits more crime is irrelevant. Their loved ones were taken from them by someone who should not even have been present in this country. They will never get their loved ones back.
Sheriff Chuck Jenkins correctly called illegal immigration a public safety issue, pure and simple. The Frederick County, Maryland Sheriff’s Office, which he leads, has been a 287(g) participant since 2008. Since then the Sheriff's Office has turned over 1,671 criminals to ICE to be deported rather than released back into the community. In a later article we will talk about the cost-efficiency of the 287(g) program.
Our audience left the panel discussion with facts about what we can do in our communities to reduce the crime caused by failures in our border security.
We will share additional facts in the coming days. This is a topic of interest for everyone. Border security and homeland security concern us all, no matter where in America we are. Today, every county is a border county.
For more information: www.EveryCountyIsABorderCounty.com