teamwork

      Saturday's edition of Batavia's Daily News front-paged a story of our local law enforcement performing their duties in the full spirit of the oaths they take.  Sheriffs deputies from Livingston, Genesee and Wyoming counties dovetailed their efforts in apprehending a group of robbers that have been victimizing local immigrant workers.  Using the workers' fear of immigration authorities, these thugs forcibly invaded migrant housing, beating and robbing with the confidence that local law enforcement wouldn't be notified.  However, local farmers worked with our law enforcement professionals to convince the victims to come forward.

 '   "Many of the victims felt helpless,  due to the fact many were illegal immigrants in this country, fearful of reporting the crime and being deported," Livingston County Sheriff John York said Friday during a news conference.'   But the local law saw things in black and white.   Later in the article, York says, "....I want to make it clear to everybody that even illegal immigrants or legal immigrants have the right not to be victimized in this country."

    Those sentiments were repeated by many of the fine people who worked in an "intensive, round-the-clock" effort to stop the victimization of some of the most defenseless among us.  To read the story is to be proud that our law enforcement officials take their duty to "serve and protect" to mean they'll serve and protect everybody.