Behold! your tax dollars at work, under the diversity-friendly Obama Justice Department, dedicated to service illegal aliens rather than citizens.

A big chunk of cash — half a million dollars — has been awarded to a Florida county sheriff's department to protect illegal aliens from predatory persons unknown.

Apparently, we should pity the poor aliens who came to America for a better life, but instead get their cash pinched by the cruel locals (or fellow illegals)!

Anyway, why would anyone expect American police to protect taxpaying citizens from invasive criminal foreigners? And what's a paltry half a million dollars in Washington's multi-trillion-dollar spend-a-thon?

Lake Worth area crackdown targets those who rob immigrants, Palm Beach Post, January 18, 2010

Criminals often target Guatemalans and other immigrants because they tend to carry cash and have traditionally been reluctant to report crimes.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office hopes to change that.

The sheriff's office recently won a two-year, $500,000 grant from the U.S. Justice Department that will be used to educate the city's immigrants about crime and more vigorously prosecute gang members and other criminals who prey on them.

"The suspects know if they wait it out long enough the victims won't show up for the prosecution," said Capt. Rolando Silva, commander of the sheriff's District 14 office, which covers Lake Worth. "It's a huge injustice."

By March, the sheriff's office plans to hire a community liaison, a non-uniformed, bilingual civilian who will be charged with reaching out to the city's undocumented immigrants - those who might be reluctant to talk to uniformed deputies for fear of deportation.

That's right, a police department can't do proper outreach to illegal foreigners without a non-threatening bilingual specialist with Guatemalan cultural competence.

Immigrants also tend to engage in behaviors that make them easy targets.

Some linger on street corners looking for work. They also spend time socializing on the streets in small groups at night.

Getting blotto drunk makes for an easy mark, also.

The sheriff's office liaison is expected to teach immigrants how to avoid becoming victims and that they can report crimes in several languages without fear of being deported.

Protecting diverse illegal aliens is clearly a priority for AG Eric Holder and the rest of Obama's Justice Department. Politically correct police defend foreign criminals rather than citizens.

Why is law enforcement upside down, where lawbreakers are victims and law-abiding citizens are the problem? Or is that too logical a question?