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Local Police and Federal Immigration Enforcement
Executive Summary May 24, 2008
Published by the Hispanic Institute of Social Issues in Phoenix, Arizona
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The Appleseed Network Report
Local Police and Federal Immigration Enforcement
The Nebraska-based non-profit, non-partisan law project Appleseed
Network released a report titled "Forcing Our Blues Into Gray Areas,
Local Police and Federal Immigration Enforcement", analyzing
whether local law enforcement should be enforcing federal
immigration law. Appleseed's report outlines the legal history behind
the enforcement of federal immigration laws by local agencies, and
points out the reasons why an increase in this type of collaboration
is a "bad public policy" decision. Many police departments, local
governments, and organizations around the country are opposing
increased local police involvement in federal immigration laws, but
cities like Phoenix, Arizona and its Police Department have expanded
their role to report undocumented individuals to Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Excerpt
Local Police Enforcement of Immigration Laws Jeopardizes Public
Safety
Why local police should not stop, question, arrest, or detain
individuals suspected of violating federal immigration laws is not
always immediately apparent to the public. It can be initially
attractive to believe that involving local police in immigration
enforcement could reduce the likelihood of a terrorist attack or
provide an important public service by assisting understaffed federal
agents. The negative effects on public safety affect all members of a
community, not just the immigrant population.
1. Adding Immigration Enforcement to the Duties of Local Law
Enforcement Is a Strain on Already Limited Resources
Local and state law enforcement agencies frequently do not have
sufficient resources to effectively carry out the primary tasks of
criminal and civil law enforcement. Many local police departments and
sheriffs oppose immigration enforcement initiatives. Some have
publicly stated that they will not proactively enforce immigration
laws, or that they oppose coercive efforts such as the Border
Protection Act that would require them to undertake immigration
enforcement. One reason local police departments oppose
immigration enforcement initiatives is that they burden departments
that are already under-resourced and under-staffed. It is important
to note that federal funding for 287(g) agreements covers very few
costs and that the funding
is uncertain.
2. Federal Immigration Law Is Complex and Technical
Local police lack expertise in federal immigration law, which is
notoriously complex, extremely technical, and frequently subject to
change. Immigration laws have been compared to the tax code in
their complexity, and a wide range of factors and documents
contribute to the determination of a person’s immigration status.
Asking the police to assess individuals’ immigration status is like
asking them to stay abreast of tax law and calculate individuals’
refunds as they enforce other laws.
3. Immigration Enforcement by Police Undermines Their Efforts to
Build Trust with Immigrant Communities and May Impede Anti-
Terrorism Efforts
The most alarming aspect of police enforcement of immigration law is
that it undermines the many community policing initiatives that have
developed over the past decade, which are a significant factor in the
declining crime rate during that same time. Many local police
departments recognize that their effectiveness depends upon
developing relationships with the communities that they serve and
that they must gain the trust and confidence of the residents they
are charged with protecting regardless of immigration status. When
immigrants believe that their immigration status may be questioned,
they will hesitate to come forward to report a crime or other relevant
information.
Ironically, one of the main arguments cited in favor of police-
immigration enforcement initiatives is that they will make anti-
terrorism efforts more effective. The argument has two serious flaws.
First, it assumes that persons with immigration law violations are
more likely to be terrorists. Second, because the federal government’
s anti-terrorism initiatives rely on encouraging individuals to report
suspicious activity, police enforcement of immigration laws may
hinder, rather than assist, law enforcement in its efforts to
combating terrorism. Immigrants with information regarding potential
terrorist activity may be less likely to contact the police out of fear of
being questioned about their own immigration status. Since 9/11,
many elected officials, community leaders, and law enforcement
professionals, including CIA and FBI counter-terrorism experts, have
argued for de-linking
immigration and counter-terrorism policies, saying that the immigrant-
focused security measures passed after 9/11 have made us less safe.
4. The Safety and Lives of Victims of Domestic Violence,
Trafficking, and Other Crimes Are at Risk
Immigration enforcement by local police will have a particularly
significant impact on domestic violence victims.
Years of experience have shown that one of the primary reasons
immigrants do not report domestic violence is fear of deportation.
New police policies on immigration enforcement would have a severe
chilling effect on domestic violence reporting because they will
heighten the fear of deportation. In particular, many domestic
violence victims rely on their U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident
spouses for their immigration status, but do not know that they may
be eligible to legalize their immigration status through provisions of
the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and other laws. The fact
that the same police officers to whom they must report domestic
violence also would be responsible for investigating their immigration
status will make victims of domestic violence even warier of stepping
forward to report crimes.
Indeed, some of the most egregious forms of organized crime and
violence take their heaviest toll on immigrants.
In particular, victims of trafficking, such as women and children forced
into prostitution or individuals forced to work long hours in slavery-
like conditions, are almost always immigrants. They almost always
lack legal documentation of their immigration status, either because
their traffickers brought them into the U.S. unlawfully, or because
their passports have been confiscated. These victims fear going to
the police for help because (like domestic violence victims) they
believe that they will be deported and/or that their perpetrators will
go unpunished once the police learn that they lack documentation.
5. Immigration Enforcement Heightens the Risk of Racial Profiling
When police are instructed to identify persons whom they have
reason to believe have violated immigration laws, it increases the
likelihood they will examine with heightened suspicion members of
certain ethnic minority groups that are immigrating to the United
States in particularly large numbers. Some officers will stop and
question people based on their ethnic background or their accent,
leading to violations of the rights of U.S. citizens and legal residents
whose only offense is “looking foreign.” Racial profiling that results
from immigration enforcement will affect citizens and legal residents
as well as undocumented immigrants. Furthermore, many
communities of color already have strained relations with the police,
which immigration enforcement by those authorities will likely worsen.
Local Police and Federal Immigration Enforcement
The Nebraska-based non-profit, non-partisan law project Appleseed
Network released a report titled "Forcing Our Blues Into Gray Areas,
Local Police and Federal Immigration Enforcement", analyzing
whether local law enforcement should be enforcing federal
immigration law. Appleseed's report outlines the legal history behind
the enforcement of federal immigration laws by local agencies, and
points out the reasons why an increase in this type of collaboration
is a "bad public policy" decision. Many police departments, local
governments, and organizations around the country are opposing
increased local police involvement in federal immigration laws, but
cities like Phoenix, Arizona and its Police Department have expanded
their role to report undocumented individuals to Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Excerpt
Local Police Enforcement of Immigration Laws Jeopardizes Public
Safety
Why local police should not stop, question, arrest, or detain
individuals suspected of violating federal immigration laws is not
always immediately apparent to the public. It can be initially
attractive to believe that involving local police in immigration
enforcement could reduce the likelihood of a terrorist attack or
provide an important public service by assisting understaffed federal
agents. The negative effects on public safety affect all members of a
community, not just the immigrant population.
1. Adding Immigration Enforcement to the Duties of Local Law
Enforcement Is a Strain on Already Limited Resources
Local and state law enforcement agencies frequently do not have
sufficient resources to effectively carry out the primary tasks of
criminal and civil law enforcement. Many local police departments and
sheriffs oppose immigration enforcement initiatives. Some have
publicly stated that they will not proactively enforce immigration
laws, or that they oppose coercive efforts such as the Border
Protection Act that would require them to undertake immigration
enforcement. One reason local police departments oppose
immigration enforcement initiatives is that they burden departments
that are already under-resourced and under-staffed. It is important
to note that federal funding for 287(g) agreements covers very few
costs and that the funding
is uncertain.
2. Federal Immigration Law Is Complex and Technical
Local police lack expertise in federal immigration law, which is
notoriously complex, extremely technical, and frequently subject to
change. Immigration laws have been compared to the tax code in
their complexity, and a wide range of factors and documents
contribute to the determination of a person’s immigration status.
Asking the police to assess individuals’ immigration status is like
asking them to stay abreast of tax law and calculate individuals’
refunds as they enforce other laws.
3. Immigration Enforcement by Police Undermines Their Efforts to
Build Trust with Immigrant Communities and May Impede Anti-
Terrorism Efforts
The most alarming aspect of police enforcement of immigration law is
that it undermines the many community policing initiatives that have
developed over the past decade, which are a significant factor in the
declining crime rate during that same time. Many local police
departments recognize that their effectiveness depends upon
developing relationships with the communities that they serve and
that they must gain the trust and confidence of the residents they
are charged with protecting regardless of immigration status. When
immigrants believe that their immigration status may be questioned,
they will hesitate to come forward to report a crime or other relevant
information.
Ironically, one of the main arguments cited in favor of police-
immigration enforcement initiatives is that they will make anti-
terrorism efforts more effective. The argument has two serious flaws.
First, it assumes that persons with immigration law violations are
more likely to be terrorists. Second, because the federal government’
s anti-terrorism initiatives rely on encouraging individuals to report
suspicious activity, police enforcement of immigration laws may
hinder, rather than assist, law enforcement in its efforts to
combating terrorism. Immigrants with information regarding potential
terrorist activity may be less likely to contact the police out of fear of
being questioned about their own immigration status. Since 9/11,
many elected officials, community leaders, and law enforcement
professionals, including CIA and FBI counter-terrorism experts, have
argued for de-linking
immigration and counter-terrorism policies, saying that the immigrant-
focused security measures passed after 9/11 have made us less safe.
4. The Safety and Lives of Victims of Domestic Violence,
Trafficking, and Other Crimes Are at Risk
Immigration enforcement by local police will have a particularly
significant impact on domestic violence victims.
Years of experience have shown that one of the primary reasons
immigrants do not report domestic violence is fear of deportation.
New police policies on immigration enforcement would have a severe
chilling effect on domestic violence reporting because they will
heighten the fear of deportation. In particular, many domestic
violence victims rely on their U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident
spouses for their immigration status, but do not know that they may
be eligible to legalize their immigration status through provisions of
the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and other laws. The fact
that the same police officers to whom they must report domestic
violence also would be responsible for investigating their immigration
status will make victims of domestic violence even warier of stepping
forward to report crimes.
Indeed, some of the most egregious forms of organized crime and
violence take their heaviest toll on immigrants.
In particular, victims of trafficking, such as women and children forced
into prostitution or individuals forced to work long hours in slavery-
like conditions, are almost always immigrants. They almost always
lack legal documentation of their immigration status, either because
their traffickers brought them into the U.S. unlawfully, or because
their passports have been confiscated. These victims fear going to
the police for help because (like domestic violence victims) they
believe that they will be deported and/or that their perpetrators will
go unpunished once the police learn that they lack documentation.
5. Immigration Enforcement Heightens the Risk of Racial Profiling
When police are instructed to identify persons whom they have
reason to believe have violated immigration laws, it increases the
likelihood they will examine with heightened suspicion members of
certain ethnic minority groups that are immigrating to the United
States in particularly large numbers. Some officers will stop and
question people based on their ethnic background or their accent,
leading to violations of the rights of U.S. citizens and legal residents
whose only offense is “looking foreign.” Racial profiling that results
from immigration enforcement will affect citizens and legal residents
as well as undocumented immigrants. Furthermore, many
communities of color already have strained relations with the police,
which immigration enforcement by those authorities will likely worsen.
| Documented Dreams |
| A collection of letters written by students struggling to continue with their education due to their immigration status. The letters document the socio-economic plight of Arizona immigrant students who were brought to the United States as children, and due to their legal status are forced to abandon college or pay out-of-the state tuition. A fully bilingual book in English and Spanish; includes black and white photographs. $19.95 + $3.99 s/h Total $23.94 |
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