BORDER: Welcome to the police state

The recent county town hall on illegal immigration revealed how misguided both our local and federal law enforcement agencies are toward the immigration crisis ravaging our country.

Local Border Patrol chief Lloyd Easterling plainly admitted that Border Patrol doesn’t consider someone working illegally in the U.S. to be guilty of a crime, and acknowledged they make no effort to enforce immigration laws against illegal workers. 

Easterling also confirmed that Border Patrol essentially practices catch-and-release policing, bordering on aiding and abetting. Protocol is to transport detainees to the nearest bus station, provide them with social assistance, then release them on their own recognizance. 

Easterling clearly supports the woke Biden agenda to erase our borders, and I found it disturbing that Sheriff Norris is collaborating with Easterling to enable such lawlessness. Norris must either share Easterling’s woke views, or have some ulterior motive. While Norris claims he supports enforcing immigration laws, he was exceptionally quick with a litany of excuses about why he won’t. 

Most ironic from the meeting was Mortensen citing the Fourth Amendment rights of illegal immigrants. It’s ironic because within 100 miles of the border, Border Patrol is effectively immune from respecting the constitutional rights of either illegal migrants or U.S. citizens. They can detain, search and ID anyone, without probable cause, using both mandatory stop checkpoints and roving patrols.

If Border Patrol isn’t pursuing illegal migrants, why are they here? Probably to collude with Norris to set up checkpoints he can use to skirt around the constitutional rights of his constituents. Welcome to the new police state where only criminals are free. Show me your papers!

TODD HOFFMAN

Coeur d’Alene