Who cares if immigrants are raped?

MASSACHUSETTS REPUBLICAN state Rep. Ryan Fattman has some interesting advice for undocumented immigrant women who might be victims of rape: don't think you should be able to report the crime to the police.

As Marie Diamond of ThinkProgress.org recently reported, "while defending a controversial federal immigration program that many say will damage the relationship between law enforcement and immigrant communities," Fattman essentially stated that he thinks undocumented women who are raped should be afraid to go to the police:

Mr. Fattman dismissed concerns of some law enforcement officials--cited by the governor--who said using local police to enforce immigration laws could discourage reporting of crime by victims who are illegal immigrants.

Asked if he would be concerned that a woman without legal immigration status was raped and beaten as she walked down the street might be afraid to report the crime to police, Mr. Fattman said he was not worried about those implications.

"My thought is that if someone is here illegally, they should be afraid to come forward," Mr. Fattman said. "If you do it the right way, you don't have to be concerned about these things," he said referring to obtaining legal immigration status.

"Instead of helping rape victims," Diamond noted, "the new federal program would have police turn them directly over to the federal government to be deported. Fattman believes that's exactly what should happen":

Mr. Fattman acknowledged that people could be deported after an arrest even if they are not convicted of a crime, under the program in use in more than 30 states.

While citizens have the right to be viewed as innocent until found guilty in court, he said, "I don't think that principle extends to illegal immigrants." He said he had no concerns about racial profiling by police.