Republican Assemblyman/state Senate candidate/potential U.S. Senate candidate Joe Pennacchio doesn’t think Attorney General Anne Milgram’s recent immigration directive goes far enough.
Milgram recently ordered local police officers to check the immigration status of all suspects charged with serious crimes and drunk driving. Pennacchio thinks that the directive should be expanded to cover suspects and convicts who were already locked up before Milgram gave that order.
"It doesn't make sense to me not to go after the criminals we already have incarcerated," said Pennacchio, who’s challenging Democrat Wasim Khan for a state Senate seat while mulling a bid for the US Senate GOP nomination.
Right now, county jails and state prisons are only permitted to check immigration status if they have a written agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Currently, none do.
"Here we have criminals who have committed crimes, are in jail and no one can ask if they are legal residents or not. The Attorney General should change her directive immediately to include state and county jails,” said Pennacchio.
