It's great that illegal immigrants who were stealing emergency supplies were arrested at Qualcomm Stadium, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement seems to be taking a rather passive approach to their job.
San Diego police responded to a call about alleged theft from the evacuation center and encountered six people in a van who didn't speak English and didn't have California driver's licenses, Foreman said. The police officers called the Border Patrol, who arrived at the stadium and made the arrests, he said. Foreman said the immigrants admitted they were Mexican citizens and that they were stealing.Border Patrol agents are not looking for illegal immigrants at the center but will continue responding to police calls for assistance.
"We are not in any means at Qualcomm for enforcement capacity," he said. "We are not there to take advantage of a situation."
Perhaps the Border Patrol isn't the right organization to be rounding up illegal immigrants at Qualcomm Stadium, but that job should fit within the purview of some division of ICE. Why not take advantage of a situation that makes rounding up illegal immigrants easier? Are we playing a game? Did the fires create some sort of "time out"?
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