Actually I didn't realize that such law enforcement measures have been taking place - not just in the Washington DC area, but all over the country.
I personally think law enforcement of those who are in our country illegally is a good thing. Even better though would be if law enforcement went after the companies who hire these illegals. But overall, perhaps these kinds of roundups would discourage illegal immigration to such a degree that it would lessen the strain on our healhcare systems, our schools, our hospitals, and our state and local governments. And not only that, but it would decrease the number of illegals who have taken American jobs, thus bolstering the ailing American middle class.
Most countries have far stricter immigration laws. In fact, if thousands of Americans crossed the border into Mexico City, marched in the street, and demanded immediate amnesty and citizenship, what do you think would happen? Try jailtime and immediate deportation!
Why is the United States so lax when it comes to illegal immigration? And why, when most other countries are so strict about it, do so many here have it in their heads that illegal immigration is a good thing?
The recent arrests of illegal immigrants after high-profile federal investigations in other states have sparked rampant rumors that law enforcement officials are randomly targeting the Latino community in the Washington region.
Federal and local law enforcement authorities deny that they are conducting random raids on illegal immigrants in the District, Maryland and Virginia. But rumors of roundups at malls, shops and street corners have become the talk of Spanish-language radio.
The stories have spread quickly: One man said two elderly women threw themselves on the ground at a 7-Eleven store on Kenilworth Avenue to avoid getting corralled into a bus of undocumented residents. The leader of an immigrant group said he heard of arrests being made at Columbia Road and 18th Street NW. Reports of buses being stopped in Silver Spring in search of undocumented passengers were heard.
"There's just so much fear," said Grace Rivera-Oven of Germantown, who has a local Spanish-language cable program. "There's a lot of paranoia going on, and people are just afraid."Source:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte... 
