Sending Them Back in a Sweep

Federal agents took aim at illegal immigrants--many of them fugitives or gang members--in a nationwide sweep that ended last week. More than 2,100 people were captured in the crackdown, known as "Operation Return to Sender." More of the arrests--402--occurred in the San Diego area than anywhere else. The sweep, which began May 26, netted 146 people convicted of sexual offenses against children, 367 gang members or affiliates, and about 640 "fugitive aliens" who were already ordered deported but either never left or sneaked back into the United States, said officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Still, that doesn't put much of a dent in the country's estimated 590,000 "fugitive aliens." "The immigration problem is not going to be fixed overnight," says ICE spokesman Marc Raimondi. "But the message is 'Don't come back.'" The arrests are sure to intensify the debate over immigration reform legislation pending in Congress.

Hard Heads and Helmet Laws

The motorcycle accident that injured Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has sparked renewed debate about helmet laws. A helmetless Roethlisberger suffered multiple facial fractures when he collided with a car in Pittsburgh. Nearly every state mandated helmets until 1976, when the federal government stopped penalizing states without the laws. Pennsylvania repealed its law in 2003, and only 20 states still have them. Motorcyclists oppose requiring helmets, saying bikers can make their own choices. But Jackie Gillan of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety said the public shoulders the medical costs of accidents. "The motorcyclists' mantra is 'Let those who ride decide,'" Gillan said. "My mantras is 'Let those who pay have a say.'" (By week's end, a contrite Roethlisberger said he'd be wearing a helmet from now on.)

A Troubling Uptick in Violent Crime

After years of declines, the nation's violent crime totals edged up by 2.5 percent last year, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The number of murders and nonnegligent manslaughters jumped 4.8 percent, to a total of more than 16,900 victims last year--the highest tally since 1998. Cities with between 500,000 and a million people saw the biggest hike in violent crime, 8.3 percent. Among those: Milwaukee, which saw murders jump from 87 in 2004 to 122 in 2005, and Las Vegas, where murders rose from 131 to 144 in the same period. Criminologists said a surge in prisoner releases and a refocusing of police departments on terrorism might be factors in last year's violent crime rise. But they cautioned against drawing conclusions based on one year and said the numbers must be viewed in perspective. Last year's murder tally was still down dramatically from the early-1990s, when murders routinely totaled more than 20,000.

A Legacy of Corruption

Former Atlanta mayor William Campbell once seemed destined for greatness. But last week a federal judge in Atlanta sentenced the Democrat to 30 months in prison for three counts of tax evasion. The sentencing closes the door on a six-year federal investigation into allegations of corruption in Campbell's administration that led to convictions of 10 city contractors and city officials. Prosecutors claimed that Campbell, a former Justice Department lawyer who went on to become the city's third black mayor, accepted bribes from city contractors, which he then allegedly used on gambling trips, fancy suits, and a mink coat for his mistress. Campbell, who was mayor from 1994 to 2002, was acquitted in March of racketeering and bribery but was convicted of tax evasion for failing to report $160,000 in income. "I was overcome ... by the breadth of misconduct in your administration," Judge Richard Story said. Campbell called the sentence an "abomination" and plans to appeal.