In Missouri, the "show me" state's law enforcement officers will ID illegal immigrants

Missouri's law enforcement officers are looking for illegal aliens. The state's Governor, Matt Blunt, said he doesn't want the state to wait for the federal government to act on the problem; so he's added the extra duties to the state's officers.

"We don't want what happened to the people in New Jersey to happen in Missouri," Blunt said. The Governor referred to an illegal alien in New Jersey who went to prison for the rape of a child. After posting bail, the man murdered three college students. Blunt has ordered state law to look for illegals, hoping to prevent similar crimes in Missouri.

The orders are for members of the water patrol, highway patrol and capitol police. They will now run immigration and customs enforcement checks, known in the agencies as "ICE" checks. Any suspects found to be illegal immigrants will be sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices in Kansas City, St. Louis or Springfield. Police departments can run the checks online or get help from the Capitol.

For assistance, law enforcement officers can call MIAC, the Missouri Information Analysis Center in Jefferson City and that agency will do the checks. The new order for background checks began immediately. Earlier this year, the Governor ordered a review of employees at companies with state contracts after the discovery of illegal workers at a cleaning company.