A few days ago at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez rose to the podium, resplendent in her uniform with four gold stars on each collar, to ask for a moment of silence to honor fallen law enforcement officers. The moment was disrupted by delegates on the floor, some of whom shouted “Black lives matter!”
Whatever righteousness there may be in expressing concern over some of the police shootings of civilians, particularly of black men and even a child, many of which we have seen graphically courtesy of social media, the moment was inappropriate for the outburst, because police officers—especially those who die in the line of duty protecting innocent civilians, including people of many colors—do not deserve to be disrespected by being lumped into an amorphous grouping, any more than all black men should be presumed to be armed and dangerous criminals.
But there is more than a little irony in the DNC's choice of a spokeswoman to call for that moment of silence. Sheriff Valdez presides over a sanctuary department with a policy that calls for routinely declining to honor many detainers filed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents wishing to take custody of deportable illegal aliens being held by the County Sheriff for crimes.
Such a policy not only substitutes local judgment for that of the federal immigration law about who is deportable and who is not, but it makes the citizens of Dallas County and environs less safe, because statistics show clearly that many aliens who are released from custody in lieu of being held for removal from the United States go on to re-offend.
Some of those offenses include violent crimes, even murder. And some of those murdered as a result of the irresponsible release of illegal aliens have been state and local law enforcement officers—men such as Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputies Danny Oliver and Michael Davis, Jr. — those whom Valdez wished to honor with a moment of silence.
One wonders why Sheriff Valdez doesn't choose instead to honor them in a meaningful way by abandoning her department's obstructionist policies and start honoring ICE detainers.