The American people overwhelmingly oppose illegal immigration and believe that the federal government should take sensible measures to fight it.
But with the continued failure of Washington to protect our borders, Tennessee lawmakers have had to confront this issue themselves. Gov. Phil Bredesen has commendably signed into law a commonsense bill that would have jailers in Tennessee check the immigration status of inmates and notify immigration authorities when they come across illegal aliens.
It is reasonable to verify the immigration status of someone who is incarcerated for committing a crime or jailed on suspicion of doing so. That is especially true when you consider the number of illegal aliens who have not been reported to immigration officials when they are arrested by police and, tragically, later go on to commit serious, violent crimes.
It may not be easy or even possible to find and deport every illegal alien who lives in this country. But when law enforcement has an illegal alien in hand, there is no reason why federal immigration authorities should not be notified.