It has been a hallmark of Gov. Matt Blunt's administration- dozens of news releases are issued each day, with all of them extolling how wonderful a governor he has been and how much better the state has been because he has been in office.
Earlier today, another such news release arrived with the accompanying headline, "Gov. Blunt Announces 10 Missouri Troopers Graduate From Federal Law Enforcement Training Center"
From the sound of that, you might believe the news release would concern those 10 Missouri troopers. Of course, you would be wrong. As usual, it's all about Matt Blunt. Here is the text of the news release:
JEFFERSON CITY – Gov. Matt Blunt and Colonel James F. Keathley, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol today announced that 10 Missouri troopers graduated from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) "287g program" at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Charleston, S.C. Last August, Gov. Blunt requested that we have troopers in Missouri with this training to enforce immigration laws.
"The fight against illegal immigration is important to Missouri as a whole as well as to Missouri families. To protect public safety and our families, we simply cannot tolerate illegal activity," Gov. Blunt said. "It was a priority for me to have state troopers on the ground in Missouri who could enforce our immigration laws. I congratulate Missouri’s law enforcement officers on their completion of the program that now allows these 10 state law enforcement officers to help enforce federal laws and protect Missourians against illegal immigration."
The graduation ceremony took place in Charleston, S.C., on Friday, July 11, 2008. The training results in ICE deputizing these 10 troopers, allowing them to enforce federal immigration law under the supervision and authority of ICE as authorized through section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The troopers attended the four weeks of training in accordance with a memorandum of agreement between the state of Missouri and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security concerning the enforcement of federal immigration laws during the course of their normal duties and in accordance with 8 U.S.C. Section 1357(g).
Four troopers are assigned to the Patrol’s Gaming Division and will remain assigned in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas. The remaining six troopers are assigned within the Division of Drug and Crime Control, with two officers each in St. Louis, Springfield, and Kansas City.
At the direction of Gov. Blunt, the Patrol began pursuing this training in August 2007. The training was funded through ICE’s section 287(g) program. The Missouri General Assembly appropriated $84,000 to assist with costs associated with the training and other future training opportunities with ICE.
"We appreciate our partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE," Colonel Keathley said. "This training will further the Patrol’s mission to serve and protect the public."
This week Gov. Blunt enacted one of the strongest laws in the country to fight illegal immigration. The new law prohibits illegals from obtaining driver licenses; prohibits the creation of sanctuary cities in the state; requires verification of legal employment status of every public employee; allows for cancellation of state contracts for contractors if they hire illegal immigrants; requires public agencies to verify the legal status of applicants before providing welfare benefits; criminalizes the transportation of illegal immigrants for exploitive purposes; and enacts provisions to punish bad acting employers who hire illegal immigrants. The bill also requires verification of lawful presence for every individual presented for incarceration.
Last summer Gov. Blunt directed all state law enforcement agencies to verify the immigration status of anyone presented for incarceration.
Gov. Blunt also authored the state’s first directive to audit all state contracts to ensure that the employees are legally eligible to work in the U.S. and to terminate contracts if the company employs illegal immigrants. He added tough provisions to allow the state to immediately cancel contracts if the contractor knowingly employs workers not eligible to work in the U.S. and to require contractors to certify that all their employees meet state and federal employment eligibility requirements.
Additionally, he took significant steps to shield taxpayers’ money from supporting building projects that employ illegal workers, including conducting random on-site inspections and performing a Compliance By Written Demand action for all tax credit recipients to verify proof of legal status for all workers.
The Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) has adopted a stringent workforce eligibility policy consistent with Gov. Blunt’s recommendations to the commission, including sanctions of up to a lifetime ban of contractors and developers who knowingly employ illegal immigrants in violation of federal law. The governor called for this policy to be made permanent through state statute.
Last year, Gov. Blunt ousted a state contractor who hired illegal workers and ordered state agencies to enact a no tolerance policy through tough new contract protections. The governor cancelled the state’s contract with Sam’s Janitorial Services and barred them from doing future business with the state after local and federal law enforcement agencies identified dozens of suspected illegal immigrants working under falsified documents.
Who are these 10 troopers? Surely their names could have been slipped in somewhere amidst the multitude of paragraphs praising the governor. But then again giving a brief moment of well-deserved publicity to 10 hard-working troopers is not the purpose of Gov. Matt Blunt's publicity machine.
Hopefully, our next governor, whether it be Kenny Hulshof, Sarah Steelman, or Jay Nixon will have more respect for Missourians.
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