Trayvon Martin focus overshadowing other killings: NRA chief

A top executive of the largest U.S. advocacy group for gun owners said on Saturday that media attention on the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida has unfairly overshadowed a daily stream of other killings in cities across the country.

Speaking at the National Rifle Association's annual meeting, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre criticized media coverage of the shooting of the teenager by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, and coverage of gun issues in general.

"In the aftermath of one of Florida's many daily tragedies, my phone has been ringing off the hook," he said, referring to the Martin case and national media inquiries.

"The National Rifle Association will not comment on any story without a full understanding ... of all the facts," LaPierre said.

He then listed several killings in cities across the country, including one in St. Louis this week that he said have been ignored as the media focused on the Martin case.

"You reporters, you don't care about those people," he said of the other victims.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/14/us-usa-florida-shooting-nra-idUSBRE83D01L20120414

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From ICE

LOS ANGELES — Federal and local investigators took one suspect into custody and seized more than 160 pounds of methamphetamine late Wednesday night following the discovery of two large-scale drug labs in separate residences in Van Nuys and Pomona.

The enforcement action is the result of an ongoing probe spearheaded by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in close collaboration with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the El Monte and Santa Monica police departments.

After obtaining state search warrants, investigators entered the unoccupied residences and found supplies of a chemical commonly used to refine methamphetamine, along with drying equipment, scales and packaging materials. It took specially-trained officers with LA IMPACT's Clandestine Lab Team until late Thursday to dismantle both operations and remove any hazardous materials.

"Drug making operations like this are a major public safety menace," said Claude Arnold, special agent in charge for HSI Los Angeles. "First, stockpiling volatile chemicals in residential areas is a disaster waiting to happen. Then there's the threat posed by the meth itself. We've all seen how quickly this drug can destroy lives once users become caught in its powerful grip."

http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1204/120413losangeles.htm

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Apr 14, 2012

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From the Washington Times

Sex assaults rise slightly in military

Reports of sexual assaults in the military rose slightly in fiscal 2011, compared to the previous year, according to an annual Defense Department study.

A total of 3,192 reports of sexual assault involving service members as victims or perpetrators were filed in fiscal 2011, a 1 percent increase over the previous year, according to the study.

“Sexual assault has no place in this department,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in a written statement. “It is an affront to the basic American values we defend, and to the good honor of our service members and their families.”

“Since taking this office, I've made it one of my top priorities to do everything we can to reduce and prevent sexual assault, to make victims of sexual assault feel secure enough to report this crime without fear of retribution or harm to their career, and to hold the perpetrators appropriately accountable,” he said.

His statement said next steps would be announced next week during consultations with Congress. Mr. Panetta will meet Monday with members of the women in the military congressional caucus, led by Rep. Loretta Sanchez, California Democrat.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/apr/13/report-sex-assaults-rise-slightly-in-military/

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From Google News

Trayvon Martin's father says he warned son about stereotypes

Years before the killing of Trayvon Martin grabbed the nation's attention, the teen's father warned him that his race could make him a target of violence.

The advice Tracy Martin gave his black son, that people veiled by racism and prejudices might see him as suspicious or violent, is a common and continuous warning in many black families, parents and experts say. In the aftermath of Trayvon's death, more families are having "the talk," teaching sons to be aware of their race, avoid confrontations with authority figures, and to remain calm in situations even if their rights are violated.

"I've always let him know we as African Americans get stereotyped," Tracy Martin, Trayvon's father told USA TODAY three weeks after his son's death. "I told him that society is cruel."

Trayvon, 17, was shot and killed on Feb. 26 in Sanford, Fla., as he was returning to a gated community after buying candy at a nearby store. The gunman, George Zimmerman, whose father is white and mother is Hispanic, now faces a charge of second-degree murder.

Trayvon was "profiled" by Zimmerman, who "falsely assumed (Trayvon) was going to commit a crime" as the teen was trying to get back to the home of his father's girlfriend, according to public filings by Florida special prosecutor Angela Corey. The documents portray Zimmerman as the aggressor throughout the incident, remarking to police at one point that people like Trayvon were "punks" causing trouble in his neighborhood.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-04-14/african-american-parents-talk-to-sons-about-race/54258448/1?csp=34news

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New Jersey

Summit Police Department adds a Neighborhood Watch program

Still in its infancy, the program's first meeting will take place at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 25 at City Hall, in the Council Chambers. Everyone in the community who is interested in finding out about what Neighborhood Watch is -- and what it isn't -- is welcome to attend the meeting.

Retired New Jersey State Police Capt. Howie Butt, the coordinator of Neighborhood Watch/New Jersey, will be the keynote speaker. Martin said, "He has a wealth of knowledge about what burglars look for" and how to "target harden homes," making them less desirable to burglars. Butt will talk about personal safety, safety in the community and at home, identity theft and crime prevention.

The idea for the program came from Police Chief Bob Weck, Martin said. "He has a true passion to bring the community members and members of our Police Department into a relationship with one another -- it's time for us all to start working together."

When Weck became chief, he reorganized the department and created the Community Policing Unit, which is overseeing the Neighborhood Watch program. Martin and officers Kathleen Maggiulli and Ryan Stanek make up the specialized unit that is directly involved in DARE, Neighborhood Watch, Crime Prevention, National Night Out and Adopt-a-cop programs as well as others. These officers wear a special department patch and are fixtures at city events, department functions and in the downtown.

http://www.nj.com/independentpress/index.ssf/2012/04/summit_police_add_neighborhood.html

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North Carolina

Citizens need to step up

Diane Kulik said doing something about crime in Greenville comes down to a simple question.

“Are you just interested in stopping crime or are you committed to stopping crime?” asked Kulik, who heads up a neighborhood watch program in the Lynndale neighborhood. “Don't just sit back and complain about crime, step up and do something about it.

“Whose team are you on? Ours or the criminals?”

Kulik, a former chairwoman of Greenville's Police Community Relations Committee, is helping the Greenville Police Department with its new crime prevention program called “Speak up … Stop Crime.”

“People see stuff all the time; we are the eyes and ears of the community,” Kulik said. “The police can't be everywhere at once. We need to work hand in hand with our police to fight crime.”

http://www.reflector.com/crimerescue/kulik-citizens-need-step-1024683

Opponents of death penalty see momentum

Repealed by five states in five years

Death penalty opponents said Thursday that this week's votes putting Connecticut on track to become the 17th state to abandon capital punishment shows that the long campaign against the death penalty is gaining serious momentum.

“The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty has been at it for 35 years, and I am pleased to say that the end of our struggle is in sight,” said Diann Rust-Tierney, executive director of the coalition in a statement.

Both Amnesty International and the National Coalition say they see momentum in state capitals to abolish the death penalty, in part because of new revelations exonerating a number of inmates on death row. Five states in the past five years have done away with the death penalty.

Joshua Rubenstein, northeast regional director of Amnesty International USA, said Connecticut state lawmakers used many of the arguments that Amnesty International put forth in the past.

Lawmakers narrowly passed a death penalty repeal in 2009 but could not override a veto by then-Gov. Jodi Rell, a Republican. The 20-16 majority for repeal in the state Senate vote April 5 included several lawmakers who had opposed repeal in the past.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/apr/12/opponents-of-death-penalty-see-momentum/?page=all#pagebreak

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Opinion

Seeking justice at the Zimmerman circus

Everybody in trouble with the law is entitled to a fair trial. Nobody is guilty until a court looks at the evidence and decides. A man is innocent until proved guilty. But sometimes we hold the trial at the circus, not the courthouse.

The state of Florida has charged George Zimmerman with second-degree murder in the killing of Trayvon Martin . Mr. Zimmerman says he shot the boy in fear of his life. Now the court, and a jury if it gets that far, must shut their ears to the shriek and clatter of the circus, listen to cold facts, and decide.

This won't be easy. The suspect made his first appearance in court Thursday , arraigned on the second-degree murder charge, and his lawyer in his best judgment declined to ask for bail, citing “fervor” outside the courthouse.

“Fervor” has been the name of the exercise since the usual suspects discovered the incident several weeks after the fact, and concluded that it would be such a shame to let opportunity go to waste. The eminent divines Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton arrived as if on cue, elbowing each other out of the way to be the first in front of the cameras. Skilled in the arts of angering and inflaming, they wanted to “help.” They got unexpected help from President Obama, who stirred the anger from the White House with an appeal to emotions rubbed raw in Florida. “If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon .”

But what looked at first like an atrocity, a redneck execution of a cherubic black boy staring at us from a grammar school photograph, no longer looks like an atrocity, but a tragedy.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/apr/13/pruden-seeking-justice-at-the-zimmerman-circus/

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Editorial

Gun-free campuses are safety-free zones

Colleges should permit concealed carry

Five years ago Monday, 32 students and teachers lost their lives in a shooting at Virginia Tech . Earlier this month, seven students were killed and three wounded at a small California Christian university. These tragedies exemplify the failure of “gun-free” school zones and are evidence for the need to overturn concealed carry bans on campuses so law-abiding citizens can defend themselves against maniacs.

In the April 4 incident, One Goh allegedly lined up nursing students against a classroom wall at Oakland's Oikos University, from which he had been expelled, and opened fire. It would be difficult to imagine the fear those students must have felt as the gunman aimed his pistol at them and pulled the trigger. The shooter had no reason to fear for his own safety because firearms are banned at most postsecondary schools across the nation. While some attackers abandon the instinct for self-preservation and shoot themselves, police report Mr. Goh fled the scene and was arrested nearby. Had a responsibly armed person been present to threaten him, lives likely would have been spared.

Coincidentally, on the same day as the Oakland tragedy, hundreds of students at colleges nationwide attended class wearing empty holsters, a symbolic protest against widespread policies banning weapons from college property. The demonstration was arranged by Students for Concealed Carry (SCC), a nationwide campus organization with 43,000 members founded after the Virginia Tech tragedy. The group advocates the right to carry concealed firearms on campuses for the purpose of self-defense. “Colleges invite these shootings by guaranteeing criminals their victims will be disarmed,” said group spokesman David Burnett following the Oakland attack. Alameda County, where Oikos University is located, bans concealed carry.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/apr/12/gun-free-campuses-are-safety-free-zones/

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From the Department of Justice

Good morning. Thank you, Esta for that kind introduction and for being a tireless leader in this nation's work to end violence against women and children. Esta and her staff at Futures without Violence have been invaluable partners to the Department of Justice for many, many years and I am grateful to be a part of this summit today.

I would also like to thank Ted and Cindy Waitt and the Waitt Institute for Violence Prevention for their visionary work in communities around the nation and for bringing us together today for this most important purpose.

It's great to be with you today, with so many individuals who are stepping up every day to the task of reducing and preventing violence against women and girls.

Let me begin by bringing greetings from the Attorney General of the United States, Eric Holder, who wanted me to be sure to express his appreciation to all of you for the work you're doing to bring real, positive change to your communities. Your voices have really made a difference.

When we survey the landscape around the country and see great efforts such as this summit taking place, it reminds us that in the 17 years since the Violence Against Women Act was first passed, we can truly say we've made great progress in the way communities respond to domestic and dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.

http://www.justice.gov/iso/opa/asg/speeches/2012/asg-speech-120412.html

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Apr 12, 2012

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From the Washington Times

After weeks of national protests, Zimmerman charged in Florida

A Florida prosecutor charged George Zimmerman with second-degree murder Wednesday in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin after weeks of protests demanding his arrest.

Florida special prosecutor Angela Corey said at a news conference in Jacksonville that Mr. Zimmerman , 28, was arrested Wednesday after turning himself in to authorities. She would not say where he was being held, adding that “that's for his safety and everyone else's safety.”

Mr. Zimmerman was in jail Wednesday night and is scheduled to appear before a judge in Seminole County within the next 24 hours for a preliminary hearing. He has insisted that he acted in self-defense in the Feb. 26 shooting of the unarmed 17-year-old high-school student in a gated community in Sanford, Fla.

Florida prosecutors have been criticized for taking too long to file charges against Mr. Zimmerman , but Ms. Corey said Wednesday that “it didn't take too long.”

“There is a reason cases are tried in a court and not in public and not by the media,” Ms. Corey said.

The prosecutor said Monday that she would not bring the case before a grand jury, which meant that Mr. Zimmerman could not be charged with first-degree murder. Second-degree murder in Florida carries a minimum 25-year sentence, and life imprisonment is an option.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/apr/11/zimmerman-charged-2nd-degree-murder/?page=all#pagebreak

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Parole board denies Manson's latest bid

Killer, 77, loses 12th try at freedom

CORCORAN, Calif. — A prison panel denied parole Wednesday to mass murderer Charles Manson in his 12th and probably final bid for freedom.

Manson , now a graybearded 77-year-old, did not attend the hearing where the parole board ruled that he had shown no efforts to rehabilitate himself and would not be eligible for parole for another 15 years.

“This panel can find nothing good as far as suitability factors go,” said John Peck , a member of the panel that met at Corcoran State Prison in Central California.

Also playing heavily into the board's decision, which required 20 minutes of deliberation, was something Manson had said recently to one of his prison psychologists that Mr. Peck read aloud.

” ‘I'm special. I'm not like the average inmate,' ” Mr. Peck quoted Manson as saying. ” ‘I have spent my life in prison. I have put five people in the grave. I am a very dangerous man.' “

Mr. Peck then spoke for the record directly to Manson , who will receive a transcript of the proceedings: “This panel agrees with that statement.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/apr/11/parole-board-denies-mansons-latest-bid/?page=all#pagebreak

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Have gun, will travel

Congress moves to stop states from stepping on Second Amendment

Law-abiding gun owners can run into serious trouble when on the move. Venturing into firearm-unfriendly states creates confusion about what individuals need to do to abide by a confusing maze of regulations. Congress should act to prevent honest citizens from winding up behind bars because police are misinformed.

Rep. Morgan Griffith introduced legislation in late March to strengthen national gun-transport laws. “The most important clarification in this bill is that when you are traveling, as long as your weapon is in a locked container and unloaded, you shouldn't have to worry about being arrested,” the Virginia Republican told The Washington Times.

The danger is real. “Gun owners traveling through states like New York and New Jersey are being harassed by the failure of these local jurisdictions to follow federal law,” said Chris W. Cox , chief lobbyist of the National Rifle Association . “This bill will help ensure that the provisions of the Firearm Owners Protection Act are enforced throughout the country.”

Mr. Cox is referring to a statute that protects individuals transporting firearms from any local restrictions that would otherwise prohibit passage. Guns can be moved between any two places where they can be legally possessed as long as they are properly stowed.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/apr/11/have-gun-will-travel/

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From Google News

Wisconsin

Neighborhood Watch Proposed for Arson-Prone Superior

SUPERIOR - After a series of destructive arsons the Superior Police Department is considering creating a neighborhood watch.

It has been decades since the community organized a watch, a police representative said, but four weeks of fires could motivate its renewal.

But City Councilor Warren Bender says watch groups have caught a bad connotation after the shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida by a self-proclaimed neighborhood watchman.

Used safely with clear guidelines, however, authorities say it just means more chances to catch criminals in the act. Police say, on March 20, an arson fire happened in a garage on Superior's north end. One week later something similar happened in a vacant house next door. Last week, two fires were set to a car and campers and without a suspect.

Superior Community Policing Officer Bonnie Beste says the department feels open to restarting a neighborhood watch.

http://www.fox21online.com/news/neighborhood-watch-proposed-arson-prone-superior

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Apr 11, 2012

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From the FBI

North Georgia Men Plead Guilty to Plot to Purchase Explosives and a Silencer

GAINESVILLE, GA—Frederick Thomas, 73, of Cleveland, Georgia; and Dan Roberts, 67, of Toccoa, Georgia, pleaded guilty today in federal district court to conspiring to obtain an unregistered explosive device and silencer.

U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “These defendants are members of a fringe militia group who, in planning attacks on innocent citizens and their own government, conducted surveillance of government buildings and purchased what they believed were explosives and a silencer for use in those attacks. This case demonstrates that we must remain vigilant in protecting our country from citizens within our own borders who threaten our safety and security.”

Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office said, “The FBI is tasked with protecting its citizens from various threats, both foreign and domestic, and must deal with these threats proactively. In doing so, however, the FBI, along with its numerous local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, respects and operates within the rule of law. Today's guilty pleas represent our collective and successful efforts in dismantling an articulated threat against the public and its government.”

http://www.fbi.gov/atlanta/press-releases/2012/north-georgia-men-plead-guilty-to-plot-to-purchase-explosives-and-a-silencer

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Eric Justin Toth, a former private-school teacher and camp counselor, has been on the run since warrants for his arrest were issued in Maryland and the District of Columbia in 2008.

New Top Ten Fugitive Child Pornographer Added to the List from FBI 04/10/12 Eric Justin Toth, a former private-school teacher and camp counselor accused of possessing and producing child pornography, is the newest addition to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List. Toth, who also goes by the name David Bussone, has been on the run since warrants for his arrest were issued in Maryland and the District of Columbia in 2008. There is a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading directly to Toth's arrest, and we need your help to locate him. “We have always counted on the public's support to help capture fugitives and solve cases,” said Mike Kortan, assistant director of our Office of Public Affairs. “The addition of Eric Toth to the Top Ten list illustrates how important it is to get this individual off the streets and into custody.”

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/april/top-ten-list_041012/top-ten-list_041012

For a full list of the fugitives and missing persons we are looking for, please visit our Wanted by the FBI webpage.

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Apr 10, 2012

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From Google News

Teens still texting while driving, survey says

The high-profile campaign against distracted driving, especially among young motorists, has seeped deep into the national culture: April is Distracted Driving Month, and tonight's season premiere of the Fox teen hit TV show Glee features a distracted driving crash cliffhanger from last season.

Despite all that focus, a new survey from insurer State Farm indicates that many teens might still be ignoring the message.

The survey, conducted for State Farm by Harris Interactive, finds that just 43% of drivers ages 16 and 17 say they have never texted while driving — the same percentage as in the insurer's first survey in 2010.

Yet 76% of teens ages 14-17 agree that “if you regularly text and drive, someday you will be killed while driving,” and 93% agree that “if you regularly text and drive, someday you will get into an accident.”

The State Farm survey comes as Glee is expected to resolve a cliffhanger from last season. Drama queen Quinn Fabray, played by Dianna Agron, was rushing to her ex-boyfriend's wedding and texting while driving when her vehicle was blindsided by a truck. The screen went black, leaving viewers wondering about her fate.

http://tucsoncitizen.com/usa-today-news/2012/04/09/teens-still-texting-while-driving-survey-says/

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Former Skeptic Now Embraces Divisive Tactic

Twelve years back, a former New York police commissioner spoke with disdain of Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani's get-tough police tactics, particularly the stopping and frisking of thousands of men, most of them black or Latino.

“A large reservoir of good will was under construction” before Mr. Giuliani, he told the City Bar Association. “It was called community policing. But it was quickly abandoned for tough-sounding rhetoric and dubious stop-and-frisk tactics that sowed new seeds of community mistrust.”

In 2002, that man, Raymond W. Kelly, returned as police commissioner.

In that year, the police stopped and questioned 97,296 New Yorkers; 82 percent of them walked away without so much as a ticket. Nine years later, in 2011, his officers stopped 685,724 New Yorkers; 88 percent of them were also completely innocent. A vast majority were black or Latino men.

Perhaps most striking, Mr. Kelly offers no apology for his embrace of a tactic he once reviled. At a recent hearing, Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito nearly pleaded for a less hostile approach. “There needs to be prevention and deeper community-based tactics and strategy,” she said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/10/nyregion/reducing-crime-squandering-good-will.html

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Apr 9, 2012

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From the Washington Times

Revenge is possible motive for Tulsa slayings suspects

TULSA, Okla. — Two men were arrested Sunday in a shooting rampage that left three people dead and terrorized Tulsa's black community, and police said one of the suspects may have been trying to avenge his father's shooting two years ago by a black man.

Police identified both suspects as white, while all five victims in the rampage early Friday were black.

Police and the FBI said it is too soon to say whether the attacks in Tulsa's predominantly black north side were racially motivated. Police spokesman Jason Willingham said that investigators are considering many possible motives but added that, based on posts written on Facebook , revenge appeared to be a factor.

In a Thursday update on Facebook that appeared to have been written by 19-year-old Jake England, he angrily blamed his father's death on a black man and used a racial slur. He said Thursday was the second anniversary of his father's death.

“It's hard not to go off,” given the anniversary and the death of his fiancee earlier this year, he wrote.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/apr/8/revenge-is-possible-motive-for-tulsa-slayings-susp/

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From Google News

“Secure Communities” or a National Albatross?

Shortly before the Department of Homeland Security is expected to announce another round of changes to its much-maligned “Secure Communities” deportation program, it's worth asking: “Can this program really be fixed?”

Since my original writing about Secure Communities two years ago, the program has only become more controversial. Three states and numerous cities have come forward to demand an “opt out” that would allow them to not participate in the initiative.

As law enforcement officials, I and others have expressed reservations about “Secure Communities” from the beginning. The program, which requires police to check the immigration status of anyone booked into custody, pulls state and local police into the task of immigration enforcement to an unprecedented degree. The effect is the “Arizonification” of the country.

As a former officer of the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police force, I know that when immigrants perceive local police as immigration officers, public safety suffers. Immigrant witnesses and crime victims become reluctant to report crime, so perpetrators remain free to prey on others. Community policing, a successful crime-fighting strategy based on constructing collaborative relationships of trust between police and the communities they serve, becomes near impossible. And resources that should go toward fighting crime are diverted to facilitating the deportation of mothers, fathers, children, and friends, whose only offense is to have violated one of the outdated and unjust provisions of our civil immigration law.

http://politic365.com/2012/04/09/secure-communities-or-a-national-albatross/

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