[mikemike]

So I had an idea yesterday about something that could be done to enhance immigration enforcement and help state and local governments' budgets. The CBP and INS could start up a national guard style program within police departments where officers can complete certain training (like Customs and Border Patrol agents are required to learn a good bit about immigration and citizenship laws and be able to execute their duties in Spanish) and become deputized with those branches of law enforcement allowing them to deliver some level of enhanced policing within their community directed at illegal aliens who have run-ins with the law. Local governments would feel like they have a little more control in coping with a problem they don't think the federal government is doing well on. The feds could then pick up a portion of these deputies' salary maybe $5000/year for the first 5 officers in each county, $1000/year for the next 10 officers, and $500/year for the next 20 easing a little strain on their budgets with targeted communities with the most illegals getting a higher allotment. By extending it to every county that should make it politically feasible since congress critters will be bringing home the bacon. And like I was saying make it kind of like the national guard so that these departments could draw upon this force to expand their in field force during peak periods without incurring the huge costs of keeping them on full time.