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Keller @ Large: The Boston Globe's ICE Investigation

BOSTON (CBS) -- Yesterday's Boston Globe reported on how federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (or ICE) officials have released scores of violent criminals here illegally, some already ticketed for deportation, back into the streets of New England, in many cases to reoffend.

One hundred and forty countries, the Globe found, are "failing to cooperate with deportations."

These are two extremely important pieces of information for the public to know about. I'd say public safety and the surprisingly high number of countries that won't accept their deported nationals are facts we're entitled to, wouldn't you?

But ICE did everything it could to keep you and me from knowing about it.

It took the Globe nearly five years, endless wrangling with federal bureaucrats and a federal lawsuit to get the raw data documenting this egregious failure. And even now, ICE still won't tell us exactly where these dangerous criminals were released.

Read the article, and drink in the arrogance, defensiveness, incompetence and carelessness of the officials involved. They wield plenty of power, funded by your tax dollars.

Then maybe pause to reflect for a moment on the public service – not to mention superior journalism – performed here by the Globe, with no regard to any political fallout their findings might have.

Few media outlets have the ability to spend five years and a ton of legal fees on a story anymore. The Globe remains willing, and able to do so. They should be applauded, and supported.

Or would you rather we all just sit here in the dark and make up our own facts?

Listen to Jon's commentary

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.

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