In October, the Las Vegas police department announced that they were ending an agreement with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to notify the agency of undocumented immigrants. Moving forward, they’ll only inform ICE of the detainment of these individuals in the case of violent crimes. This move expands the sheriff department’s established direction in December of last year to stop placing immigration holds on undocumented immigrants with low-level traffic bench warrants. Essentially, southern Nevada is now a sanctuary for illegal immigrants when they are arrested.
Meanwhile, a “Sanctuary State” bill died at the legislature this year. The bill, AB 281, would have restricted state and local law enforcement agencies from detaining someone solely on the basis of a hold request relating to immigration enforcement. While the bill was ultimately defeated, it shows an alarming tendency by leaders in this state to circumvent the law to suit specialized sub-groups.
The force of the law should be the penalty of breaking it. That’s true with God’s laws and commandments and it should be true of man’s as well. When you start to pick and choose which laws to follow and which to ignore, we become a society of lawlessness. Who would determine which laws should be enforced? How do you determine which of two people should be prosecuted and which should be let go? This is the very reason we have laws in the first place. Without laws, and their enforcement, the state, the very nation disintegrates. For proof of that fact, you need only to look to history.
It is vital that the people in this nation are subject to the laws and judgement of this nation. Judgement makes law absolute instead of relative. Judgement forms the core of all that is important in life. Without judgement, there cannot be accountability. Without accountability, oppression and injustice reign.
Call to Action: We are in serious danger of becoming a state and nation of exceptions. Lady Justice is blind for a reason, to keep order and uphold the laws. Allowing blanket exceptions opens up a frightening door that prohibits true justice and ultimately harms more than it could ever hope to help. Speak out against Nevada becoming a sanctuary state. Let our law enforcement agencies know that their job is to enforce the law. They don’t have the right to pick and choose which laws they enforce and they’re going against their very mandate by doing so.
By Whose Authority?
For more information on my Commentary and to see some of my backup research, or if you wonder why I take the position I take, go to www.LyleBrennan.com.
2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV) “If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”