Recent statistics show there are more than 10 million undocumented aliens living and working in the United States today. Clearly this is an overwhelming number, which increases daily by the families who illegally cross the border.

Recently there have been drastic changes in the way Immigrants are treated at the local level particularly in New Jersey.

Pursuant to a directive from the Attorney General Anne Miligram, New Jersey law enforcement officials must now notify Immigration Custom Enforcement Officials whenever an ‘Illegal Immigrant ‘ is arrested for an indictable offence. This new directive was in response to the recent killings in New Jersey.

It was determined that one of the suspects in this brutal killing was illegally present in the United States. Had Immigration Officials been notified, the suspect Jose Carranza a 28 year old from Peru, would have been detained by Immigration officials and possibly deported after charges of child rape and aggravated assault.

Prior to the passage of this new directive the decision to notify Immigration officials was a discretionary one.

Although the directive prevents Officials from investigating crime victims, opponents of the recent directive argue that this could still result in abuse of discretion on the part of the Officials.

As Immigrants patiently await changes in the law regarding legalization, the numbers of Illegal Immigrants continue to increase.

During the summer of 2007 the Immigration debates between the House and the Senate resulted in no remedy for the Illegal Immigration problem in the United States.

There were many discussions concerning legalization, which would in fact benefit both Illegal aliens and the Government alike.

One would hope that after the upcoming elections in 2008, the issue regarding need for immigration reform would be revisited.    

Joan O. Pinnock, Esq. is the President of, The Law Offices of Josn O. Pinnock, PC. an Immigration Law Firm with offices in Newark, Jersey City and Englewood New Jersey. You may contact the firm at joplawoffice@aol.com