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The former Luzerne County judge and district attorney sent a letter of support to state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, a Republican legislator who recently proposed several state laws targeting illegal immigrants and businesses employing them.
And he sent a carbon copy of the letter to several newspapers around the state.
Stevens — who served as a county judge from 1991 to 1997 before election to his statewide position — writes in the letter that “the administration of justice in Pennsylvania is being compromised daily as a result of the lack of enforcement of immigration laws.”
In the letter and in an interview this week, Stevens said he particularly supports a state House of Representatives bill that would give State Police broader authority to detain illegal immigrants. Currently, police cannot hold someone simply for being a suspected illegal immigrant, which is a federal civil offense, unless they’ve committed some other crime.
Stevens said he would advocate for changing federal laws to allow police to arrest, district attorneys to prosecute and local judges to deport illegal immigrants. Police often encounter illegal immigrants they must arrest and release because federal immigration offices are not staffed well enough to deal with non-criminal illegal immigrants.
“The local governments aren’t allowed to do anything unless the federal government gives them permission,” Stevens said. “That’s sending out the wrong message. The law abiding citizens are upset; they’re angry because we aren’t enforcing our laws.”
Judges typically stay silent on hot-button social and political topics to avoid the appearance of conflict should a case involving those issues come before their court. But various factors coalesced, leading Stevens, who is up for a retention vote in the fall, to become vocal.
The week Hazleton’s ordinance went on trial in March, a group of conservative Republican lawmakers, led by Metcalfe, proposed a package of state laws meant to curb the affects of illegal immigration.
The bills aren’t expected to gain much traction with Democrats now controlling the House. Many lawmakers also do not want to risk a lawsuit and feel the state budget is constrained enough without adding the expense of enforcing immigration laws.
After reviewing judicial ethics guidelines, Stevens said he deemed it appropriate to comment on an issue involving the administration of justice. As a state judge, he doesn’t think a case involving immigration would ever come before him, but if one did, he would consider recusing himself.
“I feel as an elected official, I’m just trying to encourage debate,” he said. “I’m a judge, and I’m just saying enforce the law.”
wmalcolm@citizensvoice.com
