1070 Active in Rhode Island
by Jonathan DuHamel on Jul.09, 2010, under politics

Arizona’s controversial law SB 1070, which allows police to investigate the immigration status of people stopped for other possible infractions, has drawn national attention and a federal lawsuit. SB 1070 has caused boycotts of Arizona businesses and perhaps self-serving indignation from politicians.

So why haven’t the feds gone after Rhode Island? According to a story in the Boston Globe, Rhode Island state troopers have been

“From Woonsocket to Westerly, the troopers patrolling the nation’s smallest state are reporting all illegal immigrants they encounter, even on routine stops such as speeding, to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE.”

“There are police chiefs throughout New England who hide from the issue . . . and I’m not hiding from it,’’ said Colonel Brendan P. Doherty, the towering commander of the Rhode Island State Police. “I would feel that I’m derelict in my duties to look the other way.’’

“In 2008, [Rhode Island] Governor Donald L. Carcieri, issued an executive order mandating immigration checks on all new state workers and ordering State Police to assist federal immigration officials.”

“In 2009, Doherty took it a step further and enrolled in the 287(g) program, which designated four troopers as immigration task force agents to assist in investigating drug and human trafficking and other crimes. They also help regular troopers report illegal immigrants to ICE.”

The Obama administration’s failure to enforce federal immigration law has made 1070-like state policy necessary, and the feds are taking umbrage, and hypocritically making political hay.

If we consider 'war' an external issue, then arguably, the two greatest current (long term) internal issues have their foundations in immigration and Health care reform.

Immigration has been an administrative nightmare for over a decade, yet not only has the bad administration of immigration been ignored, it seems to have been 'allowed' to continue. This allowance has produced a multitute of illegal immigrants who were accepted and legal and still would be, if the administration were not so back-logged, bound up, and badly run. At this point there is virtually no way to determine who was actually (originally) granted legal status, which has since expired, and who is simply a free rider. Why has this been allow to happen?

Healthcare reform has been in public discussion for about a decade. It was actually moving along at a pace I would call appropriate considering the broad scope of the issues, (legal, technelogical, financial,medical & insurance areas). Then suddenly it became a hot bed of coals which were stirred util nothing would put it out except major legislation. Why?

First of all, current healthcare reform is a top down bill. It begins at the top - insuance coverage for all individuals. But without revamping legal structures of insurance, or discussing business employee ramifications, or even determining how the limited number of medical professionals can possibly service a country of poeple who suddenly all have health insurance, insuring everyone makes little sense.

In fact, it could be argued that this new reform creates greater benefits to illegal immigrants by its subsidies of many new and mandatory non-profit medical organizations, which will be required per their entitlements to service 'everyone' in need.

I'm not a 'generational' conspiracy theorist - one who believes, that governments conspire broad political manipulations over political (terms of office) generations. However, I do believe that each administration can build a 'conspiracy' to serve a particular agenda based upon the foundation of the one before it.

So considering these two, seemingly unconnected, internal issues and how they developed and the current responce to each of them, I have to wonder....what is the conspiracy, what is the agenda, what future are we being prepared for?