Arresting Wanted Criminals “Causes Panic”
Stephen Sharkansky, Oh That Liberal Media, July 10, 2004
Today’s Seattle Times reports on a wave of panic supposedly caused by law enforcement.
“Immigration action stirs panic in Eastern Washington”:
A targeted operation by federal officials to arrest and deport criminal immigrants is creating widespread disruption in Eastern Washington, where panicked, undocumented farmworkers have stayed away from their jobs and from businesses and have also kept their children out of summer school.
The article’s reporters seem to believe that the only significant impact of this action is that it has caused worry among otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants who fear being discovered and deported.
But immigration officials maintain agents aren’t conducting widespread sweeps or workplace raids. Instead, they are looking for some 400,000 foreign-born criminal fugitives nationwide, part of an operation that began in April.
Among the now-arrested criminal fugitives are those who were wanted for domestic violence, theft and assault.
For whatever reason the reporters didn’t get a quote from any former or potential victims who are not panicked but relieved that fewer criminals are roaming around in the community.
