Blog Genesis
Thank you for taking a few minutes to learn a little more about some of the subjects I am involved in. I am computer and internet savvy, but have never blogged, so bear with me. That fact and my general personality will guarantee an unconventional site in the future.
In my career as State Representative I have always been proud to be transparent through the good and the bad. I will continue to do so and therefore sleep well at night and mingle in town with honor. In that vein, I will try to address all issues I can and support them with any pictures or documentation, either directly through posts here on this site or indirectly through links.
Representation is a two way street. I can’t represent you if I don’t know what you want and need. I stay active and visible in the district, but need communication to be effective. Please never hesitate to contact me through this blog with questions, concerns or criticisms. We are a citizen legislature in Tennessee - part time only. Each of us are experts in one or two fields, but we are asked daily to discuss issues that affect many interests. Your expertise in areas where I am lacking is paramount to me. As you watch the news or speak to your neighbors, make sure I and my colleagues are also included. An email, letter or phone call is very valuable and your efforts are never wasted with my office.
November 10th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Judd,
I was listening to Phil Valentine and he mentioned that the Davidson County Sheriff’s department had been certified through I.C.E. to be able to arrest illegals, and process them for deportation. I forget what the specific number is that’s given to this certification program, but I know the Bedford County Police Dept. is currently in the process of doing the same thing. This needs to be done here in Coffee County as well. Could you please look into this for me, and forward that info to Sheriff Graves for his consideration? This is something our law enforcment officers need.
We have too many illegal aliens in Coffee County committing crimes (if they’re here illegally, they’re committing a crime! ), and several people have been injured and killed by these people driving drunk. They need to be deported as quickly as possible!
Thanks,
Will
November 28th, 2007 at 5:14 am
Willie-
I know that Sheriff Graves is looking into it. He is a very proactive individual. The program Davidson County is doing is called the federal 287 (g) program. There are ten deputies in Davidson County being trained to access the database maintained by I.C.E. in order to check the immigration status of suspected illegals. Once their case is adjudicated and if they are found to have been in this country illegally, they will begin the deportation process. It will still be up to I.C.E. to do most of the leg work, but it is a good start.
I know it is very difficult for small counties to divert manpower for training of this type and to maintain the necessary standards to continue to support the program. I am confident any delay in setting up such a situation locally in Bedford or Coffee County is completely based on a lack of funding…which hopefully we will overcome a bit at a time.
The States of Alabama and Tennessee have gone a step further in many instances. Our State Police (Highway Patrol only now) are allowed, with the proper training, to actually stop and question individuals about their citizen status based on reasonable suspicion. If their is then probable cause, they may detain individuals and therefore speed up any potential I.C.E. investigation. Once again, funding to get individuals trained (which is comprehensive) is a deterrent to widespread application.
When I started in law enforcement in 1990, there were almost no K-9s in service to detect narcotics. One large agency would get a dog and have someone trained, then that team would be loaned out to many regional agencies. As everyone saw the effectiveness of the initiative, more and more money was appropriated and more dogs came online throughout the 1990s. Today, almost every single police department that has three+ commissioned employees has a dog. I am hopeful that the same analogy will work itself into the equation of having someone on each police force within 10 or so years that has the authority to enforce federal immigration laws.
As far as I know, short of closing the borders (which I totally support), this is the most effective thing that state and local governments can do to fight the problem.
April 3rd, 2008 at 8:05 am
oh man what are you all doing? It seems like the only thing you do is writing comments. Don’t be crazy!
April 6th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Guys do you really think that people would write such things about their personal life? Don’t lie to yourself!
April 9th, 2008 at 6:50 am
There are a lot of people here. I’ll join you guys. Believe it or not, many people fail in commenting stuff. I’m just trying to say a simple thing – before commenting something, think twice!
April 9th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
ekibastos…
ekibastos…
April 11th, 2008 at 2:06 am
Humph, you’ve changed my mind! Your arguments are convincing indeed. Despite I’m not a person who is easy to be convinced.