Alabama doubles number of state troopers trained to make immigration arrests

The 23 troopers who completed the training course at the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston add to the 21 who have already graduated from that program. An April 2005 press release from Rep. Mike Rogers (R.-Alabama) provides a few more details:

...under the 1996 Immigration and Nationality Act any state or local law enforcement agency can request permission to enforce immigration law. In 2003, Alabama became one of three jurisdictions nationwide to enter into an agreement with the federal government to train selected state troopers. Twenty-one state troopers completed the five-week course. The training took place at the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Calhoun County. ...

...the program is voluntary and applies only to border or coastal states like Alabama. Local police receive training that mirrors the immigration training that ICE agents receive and includes specific instruction that stresses immigration and nationality law, as well as cultural sensitivity and civil rights instruction. Local police may enforce immigration law in connection with people they encounter only while performing their normal duties.

Enlisting greater support from state and local authorities in the enforcement of immigration law is a positive development, but even their best efforts will be ineffective without a renewed commitment from the federal government. This particular program, for example, only addresses those illegals who are already here. It does nothing to control the flow of illegal aliens into the country. That problem will not subside until Congress and the President live up to their constitutional obligations and re-establish control over our southern border.