It was encouraging to read recently that apparently tougher law enforcement has led some illegal aliens to leave the Dalton, Ga., area.
“It’s almost a given that if you get stopped for any reason and you are driving without a license, you are going to get arrested and if (you) are in the country illegally, deported,” one legal immigrant told the Times Free Press.
Wisely, Georgia and Tennessee do not knowingly issue driver’s licenses to illegal aliens.
The article said there are no hard figures on how many illegal aliens may be leaving the Dalton area. But the number of people identified for deportation jumped by more than 10 percent in the first 10 months of this fiscal year compared with all of last year, the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office reported. Officials also reported other evidence that illegals are packing up and getting out.
An understanding that law enforcement officers are seeking the deportation of illegal aliens should discourage some illegals from moving to Dalton (or any other city where the law is upheld) and motivate some to leave.
Of course, tougher enforcement is not the only reason for the apparent exodus of some illegal aliens from the Dalton area. Dalton’s textile industry has been hit hard by the recession, and jobs are fewer and farther between. That is certainly regrettable for U.S. citizens and legal immigrants who want to work in that area.
But it does appear that enforcement of immigration laws is having a beneficial effect – when it is tried.