This past Monday, Oct. 27, I decided to see for myself what the protest against our Monmouth County sheriff was about. It was no surprise to see familiar faces to Freehold Borough protesting the sheriff and her plans on bringing federal program 287g to the county level. These groups included Casa Freehold and the Latino Leadership Alliance. As I listened to what they stated, they are either grossly misinformed of what 287g does, or they are trying to distort it.
This is not the first time the open borders advocates who marched on Monday have tried to undermine public safety. In Freehold Borough we had a committee make several recommendations about dealing with rental properties in our town. I was there the night the open borders crowd packed our town hall to protest the rental recommendations.
Although some of those recommendationsmay have been controversial, I recall seeing some of the same people who were present Monday stating that not one of the recommendations should be enacted.
Just like 287g, these rental recommendations were proposed to protect the welfare and safety of the general public. At times the very people the open borders crowd is attempting to speak for will benefit from 287g and the rental regulations. 287g is a good program which will ensure that illegal aliens who commit crimes will not be released back into the community and instead face deportation.
I find it hard to believe that any portion of any immigrant community would want criminals allowed back into their lives, jeopardizing safety. 287g is very good for those immigrants, legal or otherwise, who are good decent people and do not engage in crimes. Seeing the open borders crowd continually fighting against the safety of the very people they claim to speak for, as well as the rest of us, is appalling.
I recall when the News Transcript printed an editorial on Nov. 11, 2005, which contained the following, “Casa Freehold, by virtue of its actions, comments and apparent support of illegal immigration, will never have, and does not deserve, the trust, respect and cooperation of (Freehold) borough officials.” Judging by this recent protest, I believe the News Transcript was right.
Sheriff Kim Guadagno is to be applauded for following through on her campaign promise to bring 287g to our county. Though this program is no silver bullet, it does provide a morsel of sanity in the mess we call illegal immigration.
Illegal immigration is not a cultural or race-based issue. It is one of government failure. We need not look any further than the Fort Dix Six to see that. For quite some time we have all been told that illegal immigration is a federal issue. Well, we have a federal solution to that issue, which can be used at the local level.
We should not be looking at just the directives that New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram issued. 287g is nothing more than furthering the training of law enforcement personnel to better do their jobs and protect the public they serve. What Sheriff Guadagno is doing will be well supported by many law-abiding citizens, especially those in towns like Freehold. I hope Sheriff Guadagno stands strong and does not allow the protesters from Oct. 27 to sway her.
Brian Sullivan
Freehold Borough

