State and local police are badly needed to help overwhelmed federal immigration authorities apprehend and detain illegal aliens in the interior of our country. Illegal aliens currently outnumber federal immigration agents by 5,000 to one, and only 2,000 federal agents are active in enforcing the immigration laws in the interior of our country. Clearly, those numbers indicate that a limited number of federal agents are incapable of apprehending a majority of an estimated 12-20 million illegal aliens currently inside our nation's borders and would benefit from the assistance of the more than 600,000 state and local law enforcement officers nationwide who come into contact with illegal aliens every day. Many police officers routinely observe and even stop illegal aliens for violations of the law, however, those who arrest illegal aliens and proceed to contact federal immigration officials are all too often told to release the offenders unless a non-immigration offense is involved. This practice has commonly become known as "catch and release." Even more troublesome is the fact that some police officers are prohibited by state or local laws or policies from cooperating with federal officials, a tactic adopted by some state and local governments that favor ensuring the well-being of illegal aliens rather than protecting law abiding American citizens from unnecessary harm and the adverse effects of illegal immigration on their communities.