The Problems Associated with Local Police Enforcing Immigration Law
Requiring police to enforce immigration law will harm public safety by overburdening police resources, making immigrant communities safe havens for criminal activity and by deterring undocumented immigrants from reporting crimes of which they are witnesses or are victims.
By proposing potential conflicts with current statutes and jurisdiction divisions, such a policy would be a liability risk for local police departments and cities.
· State and local law enforcement officers cannot arrest someone solely for illegal presence since this is a civil violation.[1]
· Complications may arise in enforcing immigration law due to the difficulty in identifying undocumented immigrants while at the same time avoiding discrimination based on ethnicity or national origin.[2]
· Liability concerns arise over police enforcing immigration laws. In an incident in 1994 the police in Katy, Texas, conducted raids in search of illegal immigrants. More than 80 of those persons temporarily detained were Hispanics who were either U.S. citizens or foreign nationals who were in the country legally. The Katy Police Department faced numerous lawsuits alleging civil rights violations.[3]
· Addressing immigration violations such as illegal entry or remaining in the country without legal sanction would require specialized knowledge of the suspect's status and visa history and the complex civil and criminal aspects of the federal immigration law and their administration.[4]
Such a policy would reduce police ability to fight crime.
· Local police agencies depend on the cooperation of immigrants, legal and illegal, in solving crimes. Without assurances that they will not be subject to an immigration investigation and possible deportation, many immigrants with critical information would not come forward.[5]
· Delegating immigration enforcement to local police may actually increase crime in immigrant communities by turning them into safe havens for criminals.[6]
· Should local police begin enforcing immigration laws, more women and children struggling with domestic violence will avoid police intervention and help.[7] U.S.-born domestic violence victims report their abusers in 1 out of 2 situations; immigrant victims report in 1 out of 4 instances, and undocumented immigrant victims, largely because of their status, in just 1 of 7instances.[8]
Police don’t have the capacity to take on additional tasks.
· Adding enforcement responsibilities will overburden police resources and decrease the amount of time available to officers to engage in their primary responsibility: preserving community safety and arresting criminals.[9]
[1] Lisa M. Seghetti, Stephen R. Viña, and Karma Ester. “Enforcing Immigration Law: The Role of State and Local Law Enforcement.” Congressional Research Service. March 2004. p 7
[2] Lisa M. Seghetti, Stephen R. Viña, and Karma Ester. “Enforcing Immigration Law: The Role of State and Local Law Enforcement.” Congressional Research Service. March 2004. p 23
[3] “Enforcing Immigration Law: The Role of State, Tribal and Local Law Enforcement.” International Association of Chiefs of Police. December 2004. p4
[4] “Enforcing Immigration Law: The Role of State, Tribal and Local Law Enforcement.” International Association of Chiefs of Police. December 2004. p4
[5] Hannah Gladstein, et al. “Blurring the Lines: A profile of State and Local Police Enforcement of Immigration Law Using the National Crime Information Center Database, 2002-2004.” Migration Policy Institute. December 2005. p23
[6] Hannah Gladstein, et al. “Blurring the Lines: A profile of State and Local Police Enforcement of Immigration Law Using the National Crime Information Center Database, 2002-2004.” Migration Policy Institute. December 2005. p23
[7] “Enforcing Immigration Law: The Role of State, Tribal and Local Law Enforcement.” International Association of Chiefs of Police. December 2004. p5
[8] House Immigration Subcommittee hearing on NYC executive order 124 on February 27, 2003, http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/printers/108th/85287.PDF
[9] Hannah Gladstein, et al. “Blurring the Lines: A profile of State and Local Police Enforcement of Immigration Law Using the National Crime Information Center Database, 2002-2004.” Migration Policy Institute. December 2005. p11