Marin suffers from U.S. immigration policy, or lack thereof

Sherman R. Frederick/Properly Subversive

As the bard of our times, Bob Dylan, famously said: You don’t have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing. And right now the wind is blowing against President Joe Biden on the mess at the southern border.

A bad hombre from Venezuela illegally crossed the border in 2022 and immediately started doing bad things. Eventually, he killed a nursing student in Georgia as she jogged. Smashed her skull and pulled her into the brush in hopes of hiding the death. 

That episode highlights the loophole in public safety that so many law enforcement agencies are forced to participate in – including right here in Marin – which prohibits illegal immigrants caught doing crimes locally, but turned out of jail without notifying federal immigration authorities. 

That’s what happened to the killer (alleged) in Georgia. He was arrested in New York for child endangerment, but cops there are prohibited from notifying ICE. So, he walked out of jail, went to Georgia, and killed a woman. He should have been in federal custody and, if you ask me, deported immediately. 

Add this to a couple of incidents in Marin this week. A young Honduran boy called the Sheriff’s office to say he was being threatened by Honduran gang members in his homeland and told not to go to school in Marin anymore. Deputies took the report, but honestly what are you going to do about something like that? A young immigrant being ordered to do bidding in our country by gang members in the country from which he came. That ain’t good.

And then Friday, March 1, the Marin health department reported that in the last 14 days 5 Marin residents were killed by fentanyl. That’s four times the “normal” rate. 

Now look, we all know how we got to this point. I’m not trying to fully re-litigate the issues surrounding illegal immigration here, although it is obvious a re-think is in order. 

I’m only saying that the issues surrounding the southern border have reached a breaking point. Our government – which is supposed to at least try to shield us from bad dudes like that guy  in Georgia and the out-of-control fentanyl drug trade – isn’t getting the job done. Marin’s local leaders, who are of the same political party as President Biden, need to set him straight.

(You can reach the writer at shermfrederick@gmal.com.)