Journal-News.com

"It is sad that it has come to this."

Those words from Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones represent a sentiment upon which we all can agree.

Certainly, news that authorities had raided a Fairfield chicken-processing plant and arrested 160 employees — illegal immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Honduras, Lithuania and Senegal — was reason for sadness and dismay because of the human misery it has caused.

For many, unbelievably, it was cause for celebration — as though Butler County taxpayers had won some victory because their publicity-seeking sheriff had a supporting role when about 300 federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement descended on the Koch Foods plant in Fairfield last Tuesday morning.

And it was a victory of sorts — if you want to live in a county that promotes and embraces an environment of fear and anxiety among its growing Hispanic population. "For those who are legal there is a sense of sadness," the Rev. Manuel Viera observed last week after the raid. "There is a great mixture (of legal status) within an extended family." In other words, such raids will injure families in which some members are legal and others are not.

We can't defend those who have chosen to enter this country illegally, but the God-fearing nation we profess to be should have compassion for them and their families. After all, we are all of the same human race and all are motivated by the same desires — to protect and provide for our loved ones.

Our rage is rightfully directed at a federal government that has been complicit in allowing at least 12 million illegal immigrants to enter our country in order to provide cheap labor for American businesses. After luring them here for years, our government — unable to agree upon reasonable and realistic immigration reform under growing public pressure — has now turned to persecuting them.

It would be an error to assign too much blame or too much credit to Sheriff Jones who — after dabbling in various populist issues after winning election in 2004 — found a winner in illegal immigration and has made it the central focus of his administration, garnering local and national fame in the process.

To be absolutely clear, we do not believe that Sheriff Jones is racist — as he likes to complain to talk radio hosts — despite his strident and simplistic views. Jones is a smart, charismatic and opportunistic politician who has found his winning horse.

Since mounting that horse, Jones has modified his positions at times and correctly taken aim at the White House and others in the federal government who have allowed this situation to develop. Good for him.

But we can only imagine what is in store for Butler County's Hispanic population — those who choose to brave the storm — when our sheriff runs for re-election next year. Presumably, by then, his department will have obtained the federal immigration powers he has been diligently pursuing.

Aside from the arrests of 20 suspects who stand accused of forgery and identity theft, what did last week's raid really accomplish? Consider the resources spent — two years of federal agents' salaries, plus the salaries of all the local officers, court and jail costs — vs. the resulting human tragedies.

Ironically, our social service agencies — Children Services, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and others — will be busy for weeks, dealing with the aftermath of taking parents away from their children and other dependents. This grand performance by the feds and locals — designed to make the American people believe that their government is finally cracking down on illegal immigrants — will be much more costly than if we had allowed these workers to do their jobs and go home to their families.

Koch Foods is no small company — with 7,500 workers in facilities across several states — and should face the music for not ensuring that all their workers are documented. We will be interested in following the penalties assessed against the company and its officials — because any meaningful reform must begin with the employers who break the law.

But at the end of the day, the Koch Foods raid did not make our children any safer, did not stop any real crime, and did not find any terrorists conspiring to harm our nation. It was a great blustery show of stopping people from working hard and advancing out of poverty.

It is indeed sad that it has come to this.