When California paramedic Michael Sprinkles was killed on his way home from work by immigration criminal Juan Bibinz, it was a preventable accident. Bibinz, you see, had been arrested several times before by the LAPD and has been convicted of multiple felonies. He was even deported once – but that was insufficient to get LAPD to hold him and turn him over to immigration officials. Why not? A little something called Special Order 40.

How can an illegal alien be arrested again and again, yet sent home only once? Maybe because it’s official L.A.P.D. policy that officers can’t ask about a suspect’s citizenship. “Special Order 40, enacted in 1979, bars police from enforcing federal immigration laws,” is how the ACLU put it in a 2001 news release. And, it noted, “the Police Commission’s own Independent Review Panel noted how critical the Order is to ensure public safety.” Tell that to Michael Sprinkles.

The ACLU claims that Special Order 40 is “essential.” But a better word for it would be “illegal.” The state’s penal code reads, “Every law enforcement agency in California shall fully cooperate with the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service regarding any person who is arrested if he or she is suspected of being present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws.” Not much ambiguity there.

Special Order 40 is useful, though. It explains why the United States is facing an illegal immigration crisis: We donÂ’t take illegal immigration seriously.

So because Los Angeles police wonÂ’t follow state law and help enforce federal law, a good man died.

Nice going, Los Angeles – here is hoping that Sprinkle’s family ends up owning your city by the time litigation is finished, and that several city officials end up in jail. After all, city officials acted illegally in order to aid a known criminal, resulting in Sprinkle’s death. That is more than mere negligence.

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A recent sting by the Houston Police Department aimed at getting a burglar resulted in the arrest of a number of illegal aliens. There has, of course, been an outcry about the operation from all the usual liberal suspects.

Today the Houston Chronicle weighs in, taking a thouroughly predictable position.

On any given day, dozens of would-be laborers mill about Washington and Shepherd streets. Residents, many of them Latino, complained that the men were disrupting traffic by wading into the street whenever potential employers passed. So the local HPD unit devised a plan: Masquerading as contractors, officers hired dozens of day laborers from the street, then promptly arrested them. The ruse didn't yield the burglar; it did lead to 30 charges of solicitation by pedestrians — a Class C misdemeanor. Days later, most of the men were back on the streets.

Neighborhood residents were delighted, but the police sweep smacked of entrapment. It also sent the wrong message to Houston's immigrants, compromising public safety. Police, the arrests implied, were the enemy of people just trying to get work.

Actually, the arrests implied that if you break the law you are subject to arrest. In all honestly, the bulk of those cited should have been turned over to federal officials for deportation. -- but they weren't. Some laws, you see go unenforced by the Houston Police.

My question to the Chronicle and its supporters is a simple one -- When will you accept that these people are in violation of our nation's laws, and that they should be treated accordingly?

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Now really, what is wrong with this?

An undercover police tactic that led to the arrests of at least 30 day laborers brought protests Wednesday as immigrant rights activists demanded an investigation.

But the unusual operation brought praise from residents of the neighborhood around Shepherd and Washington, who called it a much-needed crime-fighting measure.

The undercover officers posed as paint contractors last week, luring day laborers into their trucks and arresting them, police said.

Thirty were charged with soliciting work in the roadway, a misdemeanor, and two of those 30 also were charged with drug possession, said Houston police spokesman Lt. Robert Manzo.

Manzo said a police tactical unit set up the operation partly to search for a burglar known to be in the area and partly in response to frequent complaints of crime and trespassing.

He added that the effort does not reflect a change in policy at his department, which traditionally does not enforce immigration laws.

Of course, the activists are outraged – and the law-breaking immigration criminals are scared.

An undercover police tactic that led to the arrests of at least 30 day laborers brought protests Wednesday as immigrant rights activists demanded an investigation.

But the unusual operation brought praise from residents of the neighborhood around Shepherd and Washington, who called it a much-needed crime-fighting measure.

The undercover officers posed as paint contractors last week, luring day laborers into their trucks and arresting them, police said.

Thirty were charged with soliciting work in the roadway, a misdemeanor, and two of those 30 also were charged with drug possession, said Houston police spokesman Lt. Robert Manzo.

Manzo said a police tactical unit set up the operation partly to search for a burglar known to be in the area and partly in response to frequent complaints of crime and trespassing.

He added that the effort does not reflect a change in policy at his department, which traditionally does not enforce immigration laws.

There would not, of course, be any need for the Minutemen if law enforcement (on all levels) were doing its job. But even if they were working with the Minutemen, what would be the problem? After all, this is about seeing that the laws of the United States, Texas, and Houston are followed.

Local residents are ecstatic.

Lisa Flores, who lives nearby, said she was "ecstatic" that police mounted the operation.

Flores said two men broke into her house in November and threatened her husband with knives, also threatening to kill the baby sitter and Flores' 6-month-old baby. Flores said she thinks one of the burglars, whom the baby sitter saw in the area recently, gathers with day laborers in the neighborhood

* * *

. HPD has received many complaints about day laborers, however, particularly around Shepherd and Washington. A community meeting in July drew more than 70 residents.

Officers at the meeting talked about one elderly woman who said she had a $500 water bill in one month because of day laborers drinking from her outdoor faucet and using it to wash themselves.

There also were complaints of drug use, prostitution and burglaries associated with the day laborers.

"It's a free-for-all in our neighborhood," Flores said. "As much as people want to make it a race issue, it's not. It's a safety issue."

So to all the activists – shut up, and start doing something for the US citizens impacted by these people.

And to the illegals – GO HOME!

Good job, HPD – keep it up.

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Foreigners who want to live in Switzerland will have to take language courses to ensure they can become integrated into Swiss society. Why?

Boillat told swissinfo that some immigrants remained on the margins of society because of poor language skills, lack of work or involvement in the local community.

"Lack of integration creates divisions between immigrants and the rest of society which can translate into tensions," he said.

Let’s implement this here – so that American citizens do not have to learn a language other than English in order to live and work in the United States.

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