Let me get this straight: Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney is being criticized for turning in prisoners in the county jail who are in this country illegally?

Some people think this is wrong?

Some people are nuts.

So far as I have been able to see, Mahoney has not taken to raiding employers in hopes of rounding up illegal aliens. He has not taken to running traffic roadblocks in hopes of nabbing those in this country without documentation. He isn't accused of harboring anti-immigrant bias, not so far as I know.

Most likely — if I have this straight — Mahoney is reporting men and women who have broken the law, gone to court, been convicted, and sentenced to terms in the Dane County Jail. If those men and women lack documentation to prove their legal status in this country, Mahoney reports them to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement people.

Of 18,000 people incarcerated in 2007, some 286 reported they were not citizens and ICE held 61 for further questioning and, possibly, deportation, Mahoney told a public hearing earlier this week.

I really don't see why this should be considered a problem.

After all, we do know a few things about those who were detained. One is that they were most probably in the United States illegally (otherwise, they'd have documentation). Another is that they broke the law while here; that's why they were arrested and convicted.

Those who oppose Mahoney's policies warn that illegal immigrants will stop pleading guilty to minor charges if they fear being deported and will, thus, clog the courts system. Perhaps they will. They have every right to do so.

Opponents of the policy also warn that if parents with children in Dane County are deported it will cause a hardship on the families. Perhaps it will — though having a parent in jail also might pose a hardship on the family.

But the policy followed by the Dane County sheriff is not draconian and it is not unreasonable.

Mahoney argues that "all law enforcement agencies and partners in the criminal justice system have an obligation to work together, irrespective of personal beliefs."

It's pretty hard to argue against that point.

Look, I know there is a nutty fringe out there who want to demonize illegal immigrants and to further a culture of fear in our society. I know that many of the policies politicians propose to solve the immigration problem are cruel and stupid.

But if we can't even let the Dane County sheriff report convicted criminals who are here illegally, then we can be pretty sure that those who want to demonize everyone else will, in the end, prevail.

Contact Bill Wineke at bwineke@madison.com or 608-252-6146. Read his blog at www.madison.com/wsj/blogs.