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Police to double as immigration agents

Isabel M. Estrada Portales
05/27/2005

Immigrants’ fears of coming anywhere close to a police station may get a boost from the latest amendment passed by the House of Representatives last week, which gives state and local police the authority to apprehend, detain, and deport immigrants.

“This amendment would seriously undermine the trust between Latinos and the police who are supposed to serve and protect the entire community,” stated Janet Murguia, President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) , a Latino advocacy organization.

“The entire community will be less safe if some members of the community will not come forward to report crimes or suspicious behavior because they fear law enforcement officials.” The amendment was attached to a bill that authorizes $31 billion for the Homeland Security Department, worked out by U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, as the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee.

The provision was sponsored by Rep. Charles Norwood, R-Ga., and would allow local law enforcement officials to detain and deport undocumented immigrants encountered in normal police work.

“Forcing untrained and over-burdened local law enforcement officials to become experts in immigration law amounts to the federal government, which has the responsibility for immigration issues, unfairly passing the buck,” Thompson said. He voted “no” on the amendment. But U.S. Reps. Chip Pickering, R-3rd District, Roger Wicker, R-1st District, and Gene Taylor, D-4th District, voted “yes.”

Groups such as the Minuteman Project, and others that want to tighten the borders showed support and praise for the Norwood amendment, but Hispanic groups, and some law enforcement groups have strongly criticized it because, they say, it makes demands without providing adequate resources and training in immigration law.

“Immigration law is incredibly complex and, without proper training and resources, the police are likely to make mistakes and harm innocent people. And having police enforce immigration laws also takes resources away from investigating crimes and fighting terrorism,” continued Murguia.

Hundreds of community leaders, police chiefs, law enforcement organizations, and city and state officials have opposed efforts to engage the police in the enforcement of immigration laws, citing the impact on community trust and the lack of resources to expand their mandate.

“While the Senate and the White House talk about meaningful comprehensive immigration reform, the House Republicans continue to pass harmful legislation without the benefit of hearings or meaningful debate,” concluded Murguia. “These measures do absolutely nothing to fix our broken immigration system; instead, they harm our community and are detrimental to public safety.”

According to Lynn Tramonte de la Barrera, Senior Policy Associate for the National Immigration Forum, the Bush Administration’s current National Crime Information Center policy and other efforts to have state and local police enforce immigration laws have already dampened some immigrants’ willingness to seek police protection.

“To counteract that chilling effect, many state and local governments have taken great pains to enact and support policies that encourage immigrants to come forward,” says Tramonte.

Tramonte warns that by making millions of people vulnerable to local police arrest for a federal immigration violation they may or may not have committed or even be aware of, immigrants who are otherwise law-abiding and part of our communities will refrain from contacting the police if they are victims of crime.

“This is not good security policy,” says Tramonte. “That is why so many state and local police have come out in opposition to bills that do what the Goodlatte and Norwood amendments propose.”