All Hands on Deck

The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States ushers in a period of law and order in cities across America. Trump was first elected in 2016 on a platform that included support for local police at a time when the war on police was raging in Democrat controlled cities. His support was not just a typical campaign promise that most people running for president proclaim and once elected, don’t fulfill the promise. Donald Trump actually followed through. It was at the time not the most popular thing for a politician to do.  Even Republican  legislators who in the past had supported police, hid under their desks hoping not to be identified as a cop supporter at election time. Trump never backed off, in fact he got louder about supporting police.

Another aspect of Trump’s support for police  was demonstrated in calling on urban cities to fight crime more assertively and promised federal help with added resources to do so. Woke prosecutors were elected with George Soros funded money after Trump got elected. They made it clear that they were more interested in going after cops than they were going after criminals. No-bail policies were enacted. Catch and release became the norm and criminal prosecutions plummeted.  Officers in record numbers began leaving departments. Cops were taking early retirement and even outright resigning. Recruitment could not keep up with the loss of officers. The criminal element ruled the streets.

Then Joe Biden was elected the 46th President of the U.S. He jump started the Department of Justice practice of going after police departments with pattern and practice investigations. It was federal control of urban police departments that began under then President Barack Obama. Onerous reporting and useless data collection for the USDOJ bogged officers with paperwork that took them away from doing actual police work. It took officers away from patrols and police presence in high crime areas. Crime began an uptick. Then a new facet of crime was introduced into American cities. Migrant crime.

The Biden Administration embarked on a policy of open borders. What followed was inevitable. Criminals from Latin American countries began coming across the border. We were assured by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that everybody coming in was being properly vetted. Whistle blowers in border patrol reported that this was not the case. These illegal border crossers who were caught were processed and released into American cities. Agents were told to just get them through. Then the inevitable happened.

Reports of violent crime by migrants including rape, robbery, assaults and murder began popping up. A news report indicated that over 13,000 immigrants convicted of homicide either inside of the U.S. or abroad were roaming the streets in the United States. A notorious Venezuelan criminal prison gang, Tren de Aragua armed themselves and began taking over neighborhoods. They involved themselves in the illegal street drug trade to support themselves. When this became public, a few Democrat politicians tried to downplay what was going on even when some of the incidents were videotaped and shown on TV. This tolerance for migrant crime is one of the issues that led to Donal Trump being re-elected last November. Once again Trump made securing the border and deporting illegals a main plank in his platform.

So President Trump is back and like the first time he served as President, he is following through on his promises. He appointed a Border Czar, Tom Homan a former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Homan  indicated that they would target the criminals and deport them first along with finding the over 300,000 missing children brought into the country under the Biden, Harris and Myorkas administration.

Locating the criminals for deportation is going to be an arduous task. Ideally ICE would need the help of local law enforcement. Homan has made it clear however that ICE will get this done with or without help from local officials There are over 150,00 local law enforcement officers in the country. They are familial with the landscape locally. They could be an invaluable tool in locating the criminal illegals.

Local, state and federal law enforcement have always worked together to accomplish an objective. The issue of illegal immigration however has introduced politics into the equation. So law enforcement is at a crossroads. Numerous big city police executives are digging their heels in and pronouncing that’s they will not work with ICE to help round up criminal illegals for deportation. Border Czar Homan has threatened anyone directly getting in the way of their work with arrest and that federal funding will be withheld to any city or state that continues with declaring themselves as a sanctuary haven for illegals.

I find the position of these police executives and some sheriffs highly contradictory to their oaths of office not to mention that I find it unconscionable. They are insinuating that they will risk and endanger the safety and security of their law citizens by allowing criminal illegal aliens to remain in their jurisdiction to potentially continue to prey upon and victimize lawful citizens to achieve a political agenda.

I am reminded of the Policing Code of Ethics put out by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. It begins by saying, as a sworn officer, my fundamental duty is to serve the community by safeguarding lives and property against threats that could take advantage of or harm members of my community or otherwise impact law and order. It also states that… I will seek to identify and apprehend offenders professionally and appropriately holding them to account. And furthermore it says, I will cooperate with all legally authorized agencies and their representatives in the pursuit of justice.

Either these law enforcement executives believe in ethical conduct or there is an ethics gap. How do they square that with the front lone officers who they demand excellence from? I want to remind these executives that they need to lead by example. Stop politicizing policing or soon your officers will follow your lead.

Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. is former Sheriff of Milwaukee Co, Wisconsin, President of America’s Sheriff LLC, President of Rise Up Wisconsin INC, Board member of the Crime Research Center, author of the book Cop Under Fire: Beyond Hashtags of Race Crime and Politics for a Better America. To learn more visit www.americassheriff.com