Editorial: A Rebuttal To The Crete News On Illegal Immigration

We are disappointed and perplexed by an analysis in last week's issue of The Crete News regarding our February 12 editorial on illegal immigration.

We’re perplexed because our straightforward editorial was misinterpreted by a news organization that we have often referenced on this Web site. The point of our February polemic is that illegal immigration and the current influx of immigrants –- the largest in U.S. history –- has produced negative consequences here in our own backyard.

In no way did we target local police for issuing a “disproportionate number of citations to Hispanic immigrants,” as stated by The Crete News’ Jenn Lampila.

We’re disappointed because the Crete newspaper has apparently decided to turn a blind eye to the documented problems caused by undocumented residents, including the civil offences being committed in disproportionate numbers by members of the immigrant community.

The Crete News article stated: “An alalysis [sic] of pulbic [sic] documents found the data given in the (Times' editorial) and the conclusions drawn from it were reported inaccurately.”

Perhaps we should not take too seriously an article that contains two misspellings in its preface. (Also, editors at The Crete News should note that if “Hispanic” is capitalized, “Caucasian” should be capitalized also.) Nonetheless, the Times staff is obligated to defend our editorial stance.

We never intended the report in our February editorial to serve as a comprehensive, long-term examination of immigration and crime. However, we stand by the report's numbers, which are accurate. We also note that recent records published in The Crete News reflect similar trends.

The fact is, the weekly record in the Feb. 6 issue of The Crete News shows that 36 percent -- or 21 of 58 -- of the stops and arrests by local law enforcement involved individuals with Hispanic surnames. Figures from a two-year-old, statewide study, as cited in last week's analysis by Lampila, do not change the reality of the current situation in Saline County.

We cannot speak for The Crete News. However, we at the Times are troubled to read about the arrest of Marcelino Temporal-Padilla of Crete, who was charged with using the identity of another person to procure a drivers license and obtain employment, as well as to access financial resources of the victim.

We are concerned when we learn about the arrest of Felix Cesar Delacruz of Dorchester, a habitual criminal, who was booked on felony charges of committing terrorist threats.

We are alarmed by the ticketing of ten others listed in the same week for possessing no license or valid form of identification.

The point of this editorial is not only to counter The Crete News analysis, but to keep our readers focused on the bigger picture. Illegal immigration is impacting every corner of our nation –- not just Saline County. Consider these reports from respected organizations from around the country:

• Mexican citizens living in the United States sent a record $23.1 billion back home in 2006. This has had a devastating effect on small-town businesses and their communities. (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas; July/Aug. 2007)

• Crimes committed by alien criminals, such as rape, murder or drug distribution costs U.S. taxpayers $1.6 billion in prison costs alone. The figure doesn’t include the cost of lost property, medical bills, time lost from work, higher insurance costs, etc. Today, illegal aliens make up 29 percent of the U.S. prison population -- or 500,000 illegals. Latino gangs like Mara Salvatrucha 13 (MS13) constitute most of the crime from the ranks of the illegals. MS13 is the largest and most violent of all gangs in the U.S. today, and have overtaken the Crips and the Bloods both in size and violence. (The DeWeese Report, 2008)

• The following diseases have experienced a resurgence or re-emergence in the United States in large part due to immigrants from third-world nations: Tuberculosis; Chagas Disease (fatal, with no known cure); Leprosy (7,000 new cases in the past three years); Polio (once considered eradicated); Cysticercosis (a rare brain worm); and Hepatitis A, B, and C. (U.S. Center for Disease Control, Atlanta)

• A report by the Center for Immigration Studies found that illegal immigrants in the United States costs the federal government more than $10 billion a year. (Washington Post, Aug. 2004)

• Approximately 1,200 illegal aliens cross into the Tucson Sector in Arizona per day. In 2007, 14,111 of those apprehended were convicted criminals. (U.S. Border Patrol, 2008)

• For all the tough talk out of Washington, illegal aliens caught along the Mexican border have almost no reason to fear they will be prosecuted. Ninety-eight percent of illegal immigrants arrested between Oct. 2000, and Sept. 2005, were never prosecuted for illegally entering the country, according to an AP analysis of federal data. Those 5.2 million immigrants were simply escorted back across the Rio Grande and turned loose. Many presumably tried to slip into the U.S. again. (Associated Press, April 2007)

Those are just some of the highlights from our limited research. We think they are much more telling than the apologetic piece in The Crete News, which told us that “some illegal immigrants fail to obtain a driver’s license because they do not have proper documentation.” That qualifies as news?

Instead, we would have preferred that The Crete News take time to investigate ways to counter illegal immigration locally, including ideas on how to provide area law enforcement with the authority and resources to assist in the effort.

Nebraska residents who know of illegal aliens residing in the United States can call the detention and removal offices of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The number, mentioned in a previous post by a reader and confirmed by the Times, is 952-853-2550 and press “0.”

For young people who would like to serve their nation and protect America's borders, we recommend exploring career options offered by ICE or the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.