Tuscaloosa Sheriff Ted Sexton will join senior law
enforcement officials from the International Association of Chiefs of Police
(IACP), the National Sheriffs' Association (NSA), former New York, Los Angeles,
and Boston Police Chief Bill Bratton Wednesday at the White House. They
will discuss strides made in securing US borders, immigration issues affecting
local police forces, and the resultant need for comprehensive reform.
Sheriff Sexton and other front line law enforcement officials
will talk about the roles, responsibilities, concerns and impact of local
police forces serving communities with immigrant populations. Sexton, a Past President of the National
Sheriffs' Association, and a former Assistant Secretary at DHS, serves as the
Chairman of the Association's Immigration Committee.
The Sheriffs and Chiefs will have the opportunity to
inform officials like Chief Bratton, IACP President Craig T. Steckler,
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, DHS Assistant
Secretary for International Affairs Alan Bersin, Acting Associate Attorney
General Tony West, and Director of White House Domestic Policy Council Cecilia
Muñoz about the successes and challenges in their local jurisdictions and will
be briefed on current policy and programs.
Last Monday, a bipartisan group of senators released a
framework for broad immigration reform including a conditional path to
citizenship for undocumented immigrants, reforms to the legal immigration
system based upon the needs of the economy, creation of an employment
verification system, and an improved process for admitting future workers.
"We need help in Washington so that we can focus on
catching criminals, rather than sacrificing priorities to play the role of
immigration agent," said Sexton. "Immigration reform will strengthen security
in communities across the country, and finally seek answers to questions we
have raised."
