Yeah, yeah, DHS and the White House say they’ve ended catch-and-release policies for illegal aliens. Here’s a reality check from a West Virginia law enforcement official:

It is not the number of illegal immigrants that concerns Burgoyne and Bise as much as it is the way the federal government treats them.

In each of the 98 cases in Ohio County, representatives of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Pittsburgh have identified each individual as illegal, set a court date, and then released them.

“And what do you think the odds of them showing up for that court hearing, especially since most of them are set two years down the road?” [Ohio County Sheriff Tom] Burgoyne said. “One time we arrested four illegal immigrants, and they were sent to ICE in Pittsburgh. After their hearing with ICE, they were set free so they took a taxi back to Wheeling so they could look for their car.

“They even came to my house after asking around, ‘Where does the sheriff live?’ But when I asked them if they would be back in this area for their court date, they just all smiled real big and said, ‘Si, senor,’” he said. “I’m sure most of these folks are hardworking people who are just trying to survive, but the laws are the laws.”

Reader Rob Ives sent me an e-mail along similar lines:

Dear Ms. Malkin:

For eleven of the last twenty years, including the last four, I was the elected prosecuting attorney of Carroll County, Indiana. Carroll County is a very small, rural county, population 20,000.

During the last four years [DHS] refused to act against illegal aliens who were caught with false identification in our county. I would charge these individuals with forgery, a felony carrying 2-8 years imprisonment, and they would generally plead guilty. When I was first a prosecutor any alien convicted of a felony would be deported. However, during the last few years [DHS] would not only NOT DEPORT, but they would generally not return my calls…

Yep. But they’re happy to go on CNN and talk to Newsweek so they can smear immigration enforcement proponents.

***

Previous catch-and-release blogging.

Related: Debbie Schlussel reports on the bogus background checks.