Protect State and Local Police from Wrongful Arrest Liability
Currently, state and local law enforcement officers cannot arrest a person solely for the civil violation of unlawful presence in this country.[i] The enforcement of civil provisions, which include the detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants, is exclusively a federal responsibility. As such, when state and local law enforcement agencies choose to enforce immigration laws, their authority has traditionally been limited to enforcing criminal provisions of federal law, such as the misdemeanor criminal offense of entering the United States illegally.
In Texas, law enforcement officers are generally not authorized to make arrests for misdemeanors committed outside their presence.[i] Instead, police authority to arrest and detain a person is strictly defined to ensure that police remain focused on protecting public safety. Turning police officers into immigration enforcers who have the ability to enforce civil and criminal provisions of federal law will reduce public safety by discouraging witnesses and victims to cooperate with police, and will increase departmental liability for an officer’s enforcement mistakes.