Pubdate: Sun, 05 Apr 2009 Source: Gwinnett Daily Post, The (GA) Copyright: 2009 Post-Citizen Media Inc. Contact: http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2480 Note: Letters can run as long as 400 words. GWINNETT MUST WAGE ITS OWN WAR ON DRUGS In the history book "Gwinnett County - A little above Atlanta," author Elliott Brack writes of a time when "People thought of Gwinnett as corrupt, shady and crime-infested." With "chop shops," moonshine, a sensational kidnapping and dead bodies scattered about, the reputation was deserved. To thwart this moniker, the community and its leadership cleaned up Gwinnett's act and transformed the county from rural lawlessness to suburban Shangri-La. Regrettably, history is repeating itself. Gwinnett is rapidly becoming known as the workplace for drug cartels. Google search "Gwinnett drug cartel" and you'll find recent stories from CNN, the Chicago Tribune, New York Times and USA Today that identify Gwinnett as the "epicenter" of metro Atlanta's link to Mexican drug lords. The description is apt: . In July, an alleged drug dealer was found severely dehydrated and badly beaten after being chained and gagged for six days in the basement of a Lilburn home. . Four days earlier, Gwinnett police SWAT officers shot and killed a suspect in the parking lot of a Waffle House in another drug-related kidnapping. . In September, police raided a Lawrenceville home belonging to an alleged leader of the brutal Gulf cartel - a group known for torture, murder and beheadings in Mexico. . A recent police campaign unearthed 17 "grow houses" where drugs are grown or manufactured in the basements of homes nestled quietly amid Gwinnett subdivisions. What will keep Gwinnett from completely returning to its 1970s reputation as a "criminal dumping ground?" The answer is 287(g). Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes local officers, once trained, to investigate, detain and arrest illegal immigrants on civil and criminal grounds. Gwinnett Sheriff Butch Conway has applied for the program with Dept. of Homeland Security and believes the county jail eventually will be certified. This would give local officers the power and the tools to move illegal aliens toward deportation. It also gives authorities here access to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's database - an essential tool in identifying illegal aliens. Georgia senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson have contacted Homeland Security on the sheriff's behalf to encourage quick certification for Gwinnett. Cobb and Hall counties are already 287(g) certified. The delay in Gwinnett may be related to the sheer numbers of illegals in our jail and the inability of Homeland Security to house, process and deport such a large number of lawbreakers. In January, 914 illegal immigrants were at the jail. Perhaps more startling is that of every 10 foreign-born inmates at the county jail, seven entered this country illegally. President Barack Obama is sending 450 federal agents and drug-sniffing dog teams to the Mexican border - a much-needed step to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S. and guns into Mexico. But there are needs farther inland and no place is in more jeopardy than Gwinnett County. If Gwinnett is to shed its newfound status as "drug epicenter," we must assemble all resources to wage war on these villains. The 287(g) tool is an essential one to have in the arsenal. With the situation here worsening each day, it can't get here soon enough. Gwinnett needs to be given the tools to take matters into its own hands. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin