State Attorney General Anne Milgram on Wednesday ordered all New Jersey law enforcement authorities to notify federal immigration officials whenever an illegal immigrant is arrested for an indictable offense or drunken driving.

Milgram said the need “to have a uniform state policy on notification to immigration” became evident after a recent triple homicide in Newark. Before the directive, “all police departments in our state had complete discretion as to if, when and how to notify immigration authorities.”

The policy, which follows the Aug. 4 killings of three Newark college students in a schoolyard by six suspects, also specifies that prosecutors and courts be notified.

“You want to make sure the federal government knows and the county or local prosecutor know because it’s relevant to bail considerations,” Milgram said.

Some have questioned whether such a policy could have prevented the schoolyard slayings in which at least one of the six suspects was in the country illegally.

Jose Carranza, 28, was out on bail at the time of the slayings despite having been indicted on child rape and aggravated assault charges. Federal immigration officials had not been notified.

The triple homicide rocked Newark, a city already reeling from a 50 percent rise in the murder rate since 1998, and prompted an outcry over the lack of communication between local authorities and immigration officials.

The fact that Carranza was out on bail despite being accused of committing serious felonies also enraged some, including state Sen. Shirley Turner, who on Wednesday urged bail restrictions for accused illegal immigrants.

It is a shame that it took the deaths of three innocent teenagers before the State of New Jersey decided to do the right thing. What is an even bigger shame is that it will likely take deaths in California and other areas before they inform the feds of illegal aliens who commit felonies.

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Immigration