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Immigration emergency

It now appears the Department of Homeland Security is prepared to help stem the rise in drug smuggling, human trafficking and lawlessness associated with illegal immigration in Arizona and New Mexico. And all it took was the governors of both states to declare a state of emergency in a cry for help from Washington.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff's plan for helping the two states includes some initiatives already under way - including hiring another 1,000 border patrol officers - and distant promises, such as a comprehensive plan for shoring up America's borders, to be unveiled by the year's end.

Chertoff also agreed to initiatives the governors say they have been requesting for weeks, including allowing state police in Arizona to transport undocumented immigrants, freeing up federal officers and speeding the deportation process. Arizona also has offered to provide more detention facilities, alleviating overcrowding that forces the release of some detainees inside the United States. It also will provide state police officers for checkpoints and roving border patrols.

While Chertoff and federal officials say they have been studying the border problem for months, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson decided they couldn't wait for another study. So they declared a state of emergency to get Washington's attention.

America's ambivalence regarding illegal immigration - we allow employers to hire undocumented workers for low-paying jobs even as we stiffen law enforcement efforts to keep them out - is a complex issue that deserves the full attention of President Bush and Congress.

Procuring federal Homeland Security aid to bolster border control is a no-brainer. That it took a dramatic, newsmaking gesture instead of a phone call to get Homeland Security's attention does not bode well for Chertoff's efforts to streamline the nation's domestic security apparatus.

[Last modified August 27, 2005, 01:14:20]