Good news from Georgia and illegal alien whining from NW AR

http://www.claremont.org/blogs/blogid.5655/blog_detail.asp

Enforcing Immigration Laws: What a Concept!
Georgia Sheriff Shows the Way
While many in Congress and elsewhere sought to reform our immigration laws in order to assimilate the millions who have come here illegally (while appearing to swallow the bitter pill of tougher border control), some local officials, such as Sheriff Neil Warren of Cobb County, Georgia, have determined that current laws enable them to send home those who continue to violate our laws. As columnist Matt Towery observes:
In essence Warren’s team is doing the one thing that every law enforcement agency in America could and should be doing, taking advantage of the existing laws and programs that could have an immediate impact on illegal immigration throughout America.
Cobb County sheriff’s deputies have been trained by federal immigration officials as to what to look for and how to examine documents in order to determine whether someone arrested and placed in their custody is a legal resident. . . He and his department have started to initiate, on their own, deportation proceedings once a determination is made that an individual in their custody is in the United States illegally.
The drawback to this commendable step is that many other officials have not gotten the training necessary, nor applied for the available federal funds, to deport the thousands of non-law abiding illegal aliens that plague and burden our criminal justice system--not to mention their victims. As ever, doing something about a problem requires effort. May others be inspired by Sheriff Warren's example!

Richard Reeb August 02, 2007 05:04 PM
Filed as: Immigration, Rule of Law
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Finance Committee To Hear Siloam Springs' Health Needs
By Scarlet SimsTHE MORNING NEWS

BENTONVILLE -- Siloam Springs residents don't have easy access to needed health services since the Benton County Health Department's satellite office closed in March, said Siloam Springs Mayor M.L. "Moose" Van Poucke."It's a very drastic situation," Van Poucke said. "We're very much aware of the loss. (The clinic) takes care of those less fortunate (illegals) -- they need the support."
The department was renting space from Allen Canning for about $600 per month, but after the company decided it needed the facility, the satellite had no alternative but to close, said Loy Bailey, county health department director. Leasing costs in Siloam Springs run between $7 and $8 per square foot for space suitable for a medical clinic, he said.
The department needs at least 1,600 square feet.
The health department doesn't have the budget to relocate (because of free healthcare to illegals), he said. Only about $600 per month is set aside for lease, Bailey said.
Siloam Springs doesn't own property to bring the satellite office back and doesn't have the budget to fund the department, Van Poucke said. City officials are helping Bailey try to locate a suitable site, but nothing is available for that low of a rent, he said.
Other options to find more money have fallen through. (Tyson Foods, Green Poultry, The Morning News, George Soros?)
Bailey planned to apply for a federal grant to study the need for a health center in western Benton County, but the county couldn't meet the application requirements on such a tight deadline, Grant Coordinator Kathy Bannister said. Bailey decided to pull the application. The department couldn't get funds from the state either, Bailey said.
Today, Bailey will request additional funds from the Benton County Finance Committee.
"We just want to share our needs and then see what kind of support we can get," he said.
The needs are great in the Siloam Springs area, Bailey said.
More than 9 percent of the 10,843 residents in Siloam Springs live in poverty, according to the 1999 U.S. Census. That includes 250 families. About 18 percent of Benton County residents don't have medical insurance, Beck said.
In 2006, the satellite office had 1,034 immunizations, more than some Arkansas counties.
The Women, Infants and Children service helped 6,156 people last year, again more than at least one county in the state, Bailey said.
"I think the numbers kind of ferret out the tremendous need over there," Bailey said.
No numbers were available for the actual number of residents served at the satellite, he said.
Closing the satellite is also affecting other clinics.
St. Francis Clinic of Siloam Springs, a nonprofit agency that treats acute conditions like colds and some long-term conditions like diabetes, saw an influx of people seeking treatment after the county's satellite closed, said Raquel Beck, director.
The satellite offered services for immunization, prenatal care, testing for sexually transmitted diseases, TB surveillance, reproductive health and family planning, but St. Francis isn't equipped to handle those services or the need in the Siloam Springs area, Beck said. The clinic turns away about three people a day, she said.
"We're limited with what we can do," she said. "I think it's very important to our community to find a location for the Benton County health unit to come back."
Needy residents have trouble getting to alternative offices like Bentonville, Van Poucke said.
"They can't afford the medications to start with; they surely can't afford the $15 to $20 to buy fuel," he said, noting Bentonville is about 35 miles away. "It's economics. They can't afford to spend money." (I guess they'll have to go back to Mexico!)
Health Care In Siloam Springs
The Benton County Health Department's satellite office in Siloam Springs provided accessible health care for lower-income families, but the office closed earlier this year because it lacked funding to relocate, said Director Loy Bailey. He plans to address the Benton County Finance Committee at 2:30 p.m. today to ask the county to help bring back health services there.
Source: Staff Report