Law Enforcement, State and Local Officials, Community Leaders, Editorial Boards, and Opinion Writers Voice Opposition to Local Enforcement of Immigration Laws
Police Departments
Houston (TX) Police Department, Spokesperson Silvia Trevino
“The INS handles immigration. We handle crime.”
(“Local police may get role in immigrant law,” Baltimore Sun, 7/9/2003)
Seattle (WA) Police Department, Chief Gil Kerlikowske
“We didn’t want to be perceived as a branch of the [Immigration and Naturalization Service]. Our mission is to protect people and not frighten people.”
(“’Don’t ask’ immigration policy urged for city workers, police,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 12/11/02)
Chicago (IL) Police Department, Tom Needham, Former General Counsel and Chief of Staff
[Noting that the mission of police is to prevent and solve crimes] “It would be virtually impossible to do that effectively if witnesses and victims, no matter what their residency status, had some reluctance to come forward for fear of being deported.”
(“U.S. Weighs Local Role on Immigration,” Chicago Tribune, 4/14/02)
Los Angeles (CA) Police Department, Sgt. John Pasquariello
“Because of our immigrant population here and our diverse communities, we don’t want to alienate anybody, or give anybody fear…That’s just not our policy. Hasn’t been for twenty years.”
(“Police Want No Part in Enforcing Immigration,” Los Angeles Times, 4/5/02)
Austin (TX) Police Department, Assistant Chief Rudy Landeros
“Our officers will not, and let me stress this because it is very important, our officers will not stop, detain, or arrest anybody solely based on their immigration status. Period.”
(“Austin Police Won’t Arrest People Only for Immigration Status,” KEYE CBS, Austin, 4/5/02)
Metropolitan Washington (DC) Police Department, Captain Maria Alvarenga-Watkins (ret.)
“Our government has an important responsibility to act on the very real threats of terrorism that are of concern to all of us. But I, and many others in the law enforcement community, strongly believe that deputizing police officers to be INS agents will not help in this fight against terrorism but will make our communities less safe and our country no more secure.”
(Testimony at a public forum on Capitol Hill entitled “Selective Enforcement in Post 9-11 America,” June 4, 2003)
Denver (CO) Police Department, Chief Gerry Whitman
“Communication is big in inner-city neighborhoods and the underpinning of that is trust. If a victim thinks they’re going to be a suspect (in an immigration violation), they’re not going to call us, and that’s just going to separate us even further.”
(“Immigration Bill Has Police Uneasy,” Denver Post, 4/22/02)
Pawtucket (RI) Police Department, Chief George Kelley III
“If a person is in this country illegally, they may think twice before coming forward if they suspect their legal residence was found out during the trial. That would be a concern for us. You look to get the trust of the community.”
(“Immigrant testifies, faces deportation. Danny Sigui helped prosecutors win a conviction in a criminal case. Two days later, he was arrested by immigration officials,” Providence Journal, 7/31/2003)
San Diego (CA) Police Department, David Cohen, Spokesperson
“Our policy has been and continues to be that we are not federal immigration officers, and our department guidelines for dealing with undocumented persons are very strict and are unlikely to change.”
(“Police May Gain Power to Enforce Immigration,” San Diego Union-Tribune, 4/3/02)
Miami (FL) Police Department, Lt. Bill Schwartz, Spokesperson
“We will not function in an INS capacity. It’s not our job. Our job is to solve crimes. We have way too much to do to be acting as INS agents.”
(“Critics Assail Plan to Have Local Police Enforce Immigration Laws,” South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 4/25/02)
Sacramento (CA) Police Department, Chief Arturo Venegas, Jr
“I don’t think it’s a good idea. We’ve made tremendous inroads into a lot of our immigrant communities. To get into the enforcement of immigration laws would build wedges and walls that have taken a long time to break down.”
(“Administration Split on Local Role in Terror Fight,” The New York Times, 4/29/02)
Metropolitan Washington (DC) Police Department, Chief Charles H. Ramsey
“To begin in earnest checking immigration status, I can see where that could cause some tremendous strain. Unless there’s some reasonable suspicion of a crime occurring, we need to be careful about the role we play.”
(“INS Role for Police Considered,” The Washington Post, 4/4/02)
Houston (TX) Police Department, Spokesperson Robert Hurst
“We are in the business of investigating crimes—not enforcement of immigration laws.”
(“Houston police stick to hands-off immigrant policy,” Houston Chronicle, 3/3/2003)
Cobb County (GA) Police Department, Officer Brent Daniels
“[W]e're trying to inject our objectives into the community and trying to establish that trust that 'I'm a police officer, and I care more about your well-being than immigration status. We've gotten to a point where [Latino community members] are beginning to recognize officers. They say 'Hello,' and we've gone from crimes being unreported to officers assigned to that area being sought out.”
(“Cobb police unit combats Hispanic gang lure,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 12/12/02)
Putnam County (TN) Police Department, Sheriff Jerry Abston
“I wouldn’t have the resources to do that…Money’s tight in the state in the counties, too. It’s [the INS’] job to take care of the borders, and I just think they need to do it.”
(“Midstate Authorities Balk at Possibly Enforcing Immigration Laws,” The Tennessean, 4/15/02)
Los Angeles (CA) Police Department, Public Information Officer Grace Brady
“People without legal rights would not be willing to speak up or would be frightened of police if we did [begin enforcing civil immigration laws].”
(“Value, Legality Debated as Local Police Become Immigration Cops,” Hispanic Link Weekly Report, 6/9/03)
Minneapolis (MN) Police Department, Chief Robert Olson
“We have no concern about a person's immigration status. We don't ask. We don't want to ask. I think the only time, and I've said this many times, that we would be interested in a person's immigration status is if they are a criminal that we have arrested and are taking [them] to jail.”
(“Twin Cities Somalis meet with law enforcement,” Minnesota Public Radio, 3/2/03)
Hillsboro (OR) Police Department, Chief Ron Louie
“We’re trying to build bridges with people living in fear. If police officers become agents of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, their ability to deal with issues such as domestic violence and crime prevention will be severely curtailed.”
(“Helping People Without Papers,” Portland Oregonian, 4/5/02)
Hackensack (NJ) Police Department, Lieutenant Tomas Padilla
“Two immigrants recently helped us solve a crime. Maybe they were undocumented, we didn’t ask. But maybe that cooperation would not have occurred if we were forced to ask them for their immigration documents. When immigrants fear they might be deported, they are not going to report the crime.”
(“Ashcroft comes to his senses,” Bergen Record, 6/10/2002)
Lake County (FL) Sheriff’s Office, Mike Brewer, Legal Advisor
“It’s an unfunded mandate. Now law-enforcement officers who should be looking for burglars and robbers are going to be looking for illegal aliens, with no additional monies for deputies coming down.”
(“Some Police Eager to Help INS Agents,” Orlando Sentinel, 4/5/02)
San Antonio (TX) Police Department, Chief Albert Ortiz
“Any time we get mandates and more work without a commensurate amount of resources, something has to suffer. One of the beauties of living in San Antonio is we have a lot of diversity and we seem to pull together. If that [mandate] happens, we’d really have to think very hard about where it would be on our priority list, and if it would even be a priority…We’ve tried so very hard for years to build bridges to all segments of our community. This would be a setback in that regard.”
(“Sheriff, Top Cop Blast INS Proposal,” San Antonio Express News, 4/5/02)
Montgomery County (MD) Police Chief Charles Moose
“We enforce criminal laws and INS enforces INS laws. . . . We try to build relationships with people in order to serve them, in order to assist them. Now this movement by the federal government to say that they want local officers to become INS agents is against the core values of community policing: partnerships, assisting people, and being there to solve problems. . . . I think it would be totally inappropriate to go down that path.”
(“Ask the Chief,” WTOP Radio, 5/29/2002)
Ventura County (CA) Sheriff’s Department, Eric Nishimoto, Spokesperson
“We’re not in favor of having our department being responsible for that function. The number one risk is the potential for civil rights violations. Right now we’re involved in preventing any kind of racial profiling and this type of function could open us to that kind of risk…We feel our officers are not equipped to make that kind of determination of who is legal. In the 70’s, one of our tasks was to round up illegals and it was very difficult to make that kind of determination. From a practical standpoint, we’re not staffed to do that, especially in this time of budget reductions.”
(“Proposal for Police to Act as INS Agents Denounced,” Ventura County Star, 4/6/02)
San Joaquin County (CA) Sheriff’s Office, Lt. Armando Mayoya
“If police officers start reporting to the INS, more undocumented workers could wind up as victims. Criminals soon would realize that undocumented workers would be unlikely to call police for fear of being deported and target them for attacks. Racial profiling also could intensify if police are tasked with upholding immigration laws, and it wouldn’t just be Latinos targeted by police.”
(“U.S. May Let State, Local Authorities Enforce Federal Immigration Laws,” Dallas Morning News, 4/3/02)
Whatcom County (WA) Sheriff Dale Brandland
"My current policy is that if we run into an illegal alien, we detain them for the Border Patrol. We don't actively pursue illegal aliens. . . . We are underfunded as it is and to try to take on that responsibility is just unacceptable. . . . [The federal government has been trying to get us to do this] for years and quite frankly it just doesn't work. . . . It's really a sore subject for me. If there is a legitimate interest here, if there is a risk to our communities, we want to be a part of the team. What I would not do is go out and start hunting for illegal aliens just because John Ashcroft says I'm allowed to."
(“Police balk at watching for illegal immigrants,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 5/2/2002)
Metropolitan Nashville (TN) Police Department, Don Aron, Spokesperson
“We don’t have any desire for all 1,300 members of the Police Department to be quasi-INS agents.”
(“Midstate Authorities Balk at Possibly Enforcing Immigration Laws,” The Tennessean, 4/15/02)
Stockton (CA) Police Department, Chief Edward Chavez
“To be quite honest, if people are law-abiding and are here to earn a productive life and be a contributing member of society…they should be allowed to live their lives.”
(“S.J. Officials Blast INS Role for Police,” Stockton Record, 4/4/02)
Waco (TX) Police Department, Chief Alberto Melis
“I worry that there are people who don’t ask for help because they have fear of the police.”
(“Waco Police Chief Asks Immigrants Not to be Afraid to Report Crimes,” Waco Tribune-Herald, 4/15/02)
Anaheim (CA) Police Department, Mike Hildalgo, Spokesperson
“We have enough problems just doing our routine calls and investigating the everyday things. This would put additional burden on us that we probably wouldn’t be able to handle.”
(“Immigrants Worried, Coe Pleased,” Orange County Register, 4/4/02)
Glenwood Springs (CO) Police Department, Chief Terry Wilson
“That’s a whole different area of law that we have to come up to speed on. We have enough on our plates right now. It’s not as if we’re out looking for extra things to do.”
(“Immigration Bill Has Police Uneasy,” Denver Post, 4/22/02)
Newark (CA) Police Department, Chief John R. Robertson
“This is a democracy, based on freedom, and people have a right to basic human dignity. That means they’re not going to be questioned just because of their appearance.”
(“Administration Split on Local Role in Terror Fight,” The New York Times, 4/29/02)
Arlington (TX) Police Department, Chief Theron Bowman
“We can’t and won’t throw our scarce resources at quasi-political, vaguely criminal, constitutionally questionable, not any other evolving issues or unfunded mandates that aren’t high priorities with our citizenry.”
(“2 Chiefs Oppose Immigration Role,” Dallas Morning News, 4/5/02)
Hillsdale (NJ) Police Department, Sgt. Robert Francaviglia
“We’ve been trying to get the immigrants in our town to believe that we’re not like many of the governments in their old countries, governments that were corrupt and wanted to railroad them, not serve them.”
(“Policing Immigration,” Bergen Record, 4/22/02)
Palisades Park (NJ) Police Department, Chief Michael Vietri
“If the Justice Department deputizes us and we make an arrest, then what do we do? Send them to the county jail? Now I’d be paying my officers to go to the county courthouse or jail, or worse, farther away to Newark? Who’s going to reimburse us? There are so many people who could get arrested in Palisades Park alone, you’re talking maybe having to deal with county and federal courts. The could take days, or more…the point about doing this to fight terrorism sounds like a decent idea, but when you go deeper, you see the possible effects.”
(“Policing Immigration,” Bergen Record, 4/22/02)
Fairview (NJ) Police Department, Officer Ronald Bononno
“They’re trying to make a living, that’s what they’re doing here. Ninety percent of the times, these guys are victims of crime. Should they have come legally? Sure, they should have. But they’re working here, standing right on the same corner where my grandfather Carmine did when he came from Italy, to wait for people to pick him up for work.”
(“Policing Immigration,” Bergen Record, 4/22/02)
New York (NY) Police Department, Chief Michael Collins
[A New York City executive order forbids the police department from checking the immigration status of crime victims, persons seeking assistance, or coming forward as witnesses] “This will not change. The most important thing is that people should not be afraid to come to us for help.”
(“INS Work Improper for NYPD,” New York Daily News, 5/6/02)
Minneapolis (MN) Police Department, Chief Robert Olson
“We are not the INS, and we do not want to be the INS. That is a federal issue. . . . We want victims of crime to come to us and not fear being turned in to the INS.”
(“Olson, Rybak look to improve relationship with Somalis,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, 6/7/02)
Tucson (AZ) Police Department, Chief Richard Miranda
"I do not believe it is appropriate to allocate the limited resources of the Tucson Police Department to the issue of immigration control. We have worked hard to build bridges and establish partnerships with the diverse population of our city. I believe that taking on the additional role of enforcing immigration laws would jeopardize those relationships and create unneeded tension in our community.”
(“Expansion of foreigner arrest plan is feared,” Arizona Daily Star, 7/12/2002)
Tucson (AZ) Police Department, Chief Richard Miranda
"Under no circumstances are persons to be stopped or interrogated simply on the suspicion that a person is illegally in the country."
(“No way to fight terror,” Arizona Daily Star, 6/20/2002)
Pima County (AZ) Sheriff Clarence Dupnik
“As a general rule, I wouldn’t want our people certified as having the authority of a Border Patrol officer.”
(“Officials wary of border policing,” Arizona Daily Star, 8/1/2002)
Bolder (CO) Police Department, Sheriff Joe Pelle
Echoing the policy of his predecessor, Sheriff George Epp, Pelle said that as sheriff he would not order the county’s deputies to enforce federal immigration laws. “Part of local policing includes building trust,” he said.
(“Tancredo targets I.D.s,” Colorado Daily, 11/14/2002)
Police Associations and Unions
International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
“[I]t is imperative that law enforcement [maintain] the trust and support of the citizens as partners in the co-production of public safety . . . . [T]his partnership has been established through the successful implementation of community policing initiatives. . . . [T]he principles of community policing are even more important post-September 11th.”
(Resolution on “Community Policing—A Valuable Tool in the Fight Against Terrorism,” 10/8/02)
California Police Chiefs Association, Chief Bob McConnell, President
“[I]t is the strong opinion of the California Police Chiefs Association leadership that in order for local and state law enforcement organizations to continue to be effective partners with their communities, it is imperative that they not be placed in the role of detaining and arresting individuals based solely on a change in their immigration status.”
(Letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft, 4/10/02)
Police Foundation, Hubert Williams, President
“The nature of the police role is to establish the trust and confidence of people living in a community. That is a vital link for police for information on criminal activity…Where does [immigration law enforcement] fit in the context of priorities? Would it go ahead of robbery, homicide, drug offenses, any of those things?”
(“U.S. Weighs Local Role on Immigration,” Chicago Tribune, 4/14/02)
National Latino Peace Officers Association, José Carlos Miramontes, President
“If this means that we have to stop Mexicans and ask them for their documents, we certainly won’t support this. That’s called racial profiling, and we don’t condone that type of action. We have other more pressing priorities that are more important to ensuring the safety of our community.”
(“U.S. May Let State, Local Authorities Enforce Federal Immigration Laws,” Dallas Morning News, 4/3/02)
Dallas Police Association, Senior Cpl. Glenn White, President
“The strain on local police already is enormous, and to ask us to arrest and detain immigrants is something the federal government needs to address by funding the INS some more and hiring additional personnel.”
(“U.S. May Let State, Local Authorities Enforce Federal Immigration Laws,” Dallas Morning News, 4/3/02)
Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, Larry Erickson, Executive Director
"We don't have enough people to do what we are supposed to do—without taking on jobs that the federal government is supposed to do.”
(“Police balk at watching for illegal immigrants,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 5/2/2002)
Houston (TX) Police Officers Union, Hans Marticiuc, President
“It’s very difficult in the immigration communities to get information from folks, and if there’s a fear of being reported to the INS because of illegal status, then it just makes our job that much more difficult and it makes the city have that much more criminal activity.”
(“Houston police stick to hands-off immigrant policy,” Houston Chronicle, 3/3/2003)
Editorials, Op-Eds, and Columns
Star Tribune (MN), “Papers, please? Council should pass no-ask law,” 7/11/2003
“Authorities in all large cities have discovered that people worried about their immigration status, or about the status of their family or friends, will shun the police, will not come forward as witnesses when they see crimes committed, will not seek police protection even when they desperately need it. Some will even pull their children from school or avoid public hospitals or other health services. None of this behavior benefits the public good, nor does it reflect the kind of country and community we should be.”
Houston Chronicle, “Two Shocks: Rising crime, crooked cops diminish public confidence,” 6/26/2002
“At the same time Police Chief C.O. Bradford is addressing apparent problems in his IAD, he can be reassured that he is correct in his policy of not allowing Houston police officers to serve as immigration law enforcers, as U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft has sought in the national war on terrorism. Turning the police force into immigration cops would have limited utility as an anti-terror measure but would exacerbate current crime problems among Spanish-speakers, who would become too fearful to report crimes.”
Orange County Register, “A Dubious Policy,” 4/9/02
“Along with other local departments, [Anaheim] has no desire to take on enforcement of federal immigration law. Such a policy would be unwise. It would blur the important distinction between national and local law enforcement and might divert local law enforcement resources from the more important job of trying to control crimes against people.”
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Don’t Send Police After Undocumented Workers,” 4/16/02
“Most police departments have discovered that they need to develop better relationships with immigrant communities – many of who are already paranoid about uniformed government agents – if they are to solve crimes in those communities. How likely are illegal workers to give police tips on crimes if they fear arrest because they lack ‘papers?’
Sending local police after undocumented workers would be a disastrous policy – and the taxpayers would end up paying for it. There would be more lawsuits such as the one following an ugly joint operation by the U.S. Border Patrol and local authorities in Chandler, Ariz., in 1997. Even U.S. citizens were arrested when they couldn’t produce documents proving legal residence. They sued.”
San Diego Union-Tribune, “No Local Role,” 4/4/02
“Mandating immigration responsibilities for cops – or school crossing guards, Boy Scouts or vigilantes, for that matter – is a terrible idea, little more that a cop-out by the federal government. If the INS is incapable of doing its job, then Congress should fix it. But do so at the federal level.”
Newsday, “Alien Idea,” 4/8/02
“People in the country illegally would be forced further underground. Crime victims and witnesses without green cards would not cooperate with police or courts, if doing so meant risking deportation. Fueled by a heightened paranoia, some immigrants would pull their children out of school, avoid public hospitals and any other services that could bring them to the attention of local authorities. The predictable result would be a community-wide deterioration of public health and safety.”
San Francisco Chronicle, “Who should enforce immigration laws?” 5/18/2002
“The proposed policy would immediately destroy cooperation between police and undocumented immigrants. Anyone whose papers aren’t in order would never report a crime, such as murder, muggings, domestic violence and theft, to the police or offer information, because merely doing so would ensure that he or she would be arrested and deported.”
Houston Chronicle, “Houston officers’ job is not immigration enforcement,” 5/24/2002
“Houston police officers do not inquire about the visa or residency status of the people they encounter on their beats, not because it makes doing the job easier, but because it makes doing the job possible. . . . Especially in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks, Americans are jittery about the "foreigners" in their midst. But many people who speak accented English or a foreign language, who have a darker complexion or who wear "funny" clothes are perfectly legal residents, or even American citizens. In the course of a police investigation, how are officers supposed to determine who is who? Rest assured that residents of certain communities would be hassled regularly to show proof of citizenship—which no one is required, for the time being, to carry–while others would escape this official harassment.”
Arizona Daily Star, “No way to fight terror,” 6/20/2002
“Local police departments do not have the resources to add new and costly layers of law enforcement duties to their already lengthy responsibilities. Moreover, local police departments can pick from any number of objections to oppose Ashcroft's plan—all based on problems that immigration enforcement is projected to create for local police. One of those would be the tacit approval of racial profiling—a police tactic that most departments around the country have already rejected as more divisive than helpful. A more onerous result predicted by police is that the relationship between police and immigrants will be destroyed. The concern is that when a crime occurs, immigrants will be reluctant to contact police for fear of being jailed. It is a simple relationship of trust.”
New York Sun, “NYPD In Serious Quandary As War Is Brought Home,” Tamar Jacoby, 4/30/02
“Inner-city policemen have been struggling with this problem [whether or not to take on civil immigration law enforcement] for decades now, ever since the undocumented population started to swell in the 1970s. And most have concluded that their no. 1 challenge is to establish trust in immigrant communities — otherwise there can be no hope of effectively policing those neighborhoods. But the new Justice Department ruling would obliterate that trust overnight, taking big-city cops back to the bad old days when even a woman being battered by her husband or a bodega owner just robbed at gunpoint would be so worried about being deported that he or she wouldn’t call the police.”
The New York Times, “Local Police Should Not Do an I.N.S Job,” James M. Lindsay and Audrey Singer, 5/8/02
“Police have learned that people worried about their immigration status will shun cops, not cooperate with them. They are also reluctant to ask for police protection when they truly need it. The proposed change in policy would intensify the divide between immigrants—most of whom are here legally—and everyone else at precisely the moment when the country should be coming together.”
Chicago Tribune, “National crime stoppers?” Christopher Ho, 5/21/02
“The idea that a state or local law-enforcement agency could be converted overnight into a mini-INS trivializes both rigorous training that police officers must undergo to earn the public’s trust, and the expertise needed to navigate the complex American immigration system.”
The American Prospect, “Alien Nation; The Justice Department takes on immigrants, er, terrorists,” Alex Gourevitch, 1/13/2003
“[Speaking out against the confusion surrounding local police authority and civil immigration law.] Since September 11, Ashcroft's office has issued a stream of executive actions that have made immigrants afraid to follow the law, undermined law-enforcement officials' abilities to perform their duties and done little to gather worthwhile intelligence. The Justice Department's strategy for fighting terrorism—which has targeted the nation's 35 million-plus foreign visitors and estimated 8 million legal and illegal immigrants a year—has been to throw everything at a wall and see what sticks. As the edicts have poured forth, they have left confusion in their wake, not to mention threatened unnecessary deportation for numerous foreigners.”
Elected and Appointed Officials
Florida Governor Jeb Bush (R)
"I would have a lot of trepidation if . . . every police officer was going to be a sworn INS officer and our duties end up with local law enforcement becoming the immigration cops of the country.”
(“Fla. Police May Be Given New Powers,” Associated Press, 6/10/02)
Congressional Hispanic Caucus
“If state and local agencies begin to enforce immigration law, immigrant communities might hesitate to access police services, report crimes, or even step forward as witnesses to provide important information about criminal acts…To allow state and local law enforcement agencies to arrest suspected undocumented immigrants based on immigration status would erode the trust that has developed between police and community residents in working together to combat crime…it could interfere with effective anti-terrorist initiatives as local resources are stretched and directed to federal efforts that belong at the hands of the Immigration and Naturalization Service…Involving local police officers in enforcing complex immigration law without adequate training or experience would likely result in false arrests and the detention of people who merely appear to be foreign-born or who speak a language other than English.”
(Letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft, 4/11/02)
Representatives Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)
“We are concerned that your proposal to grant authority to local police departments to enforce federal immigration laws will irreparably damage the delicate relationship between police and immigrant communities and undermine effective immigration enforcement…By giving local police departments the power to enforce immigration laws, community-policing efforts will be endangered. The trust these localities have built between citizens and officers will be hampered if the local police are employed as a federal agency.”
(Letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft, 4/25/02)
House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt (D-MO)
“Since September 11, the workload and responsibilities of law enforcement agencies have increased dramatically. Adding enforcement of immigration laws to their duties would increase this burden and, as local authorities have argued, would hurt efforts to build relationships with immigrant communities who would be afraid to report crimes.”
(Statement, 5/15/02)
Representative Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus
“We [the Congressional Hispanic Caucus] understand and appreciate the need for our law enforcement agencies and departments to have a coordinated approach to confront all threats and to apprehend those who would do us harm. However, burdening local and state police officers with enforcing immigration laws is simply not a good idea.”
(Statement, 5/23/2002)
Representative Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
“[T[he way to make our nation safer is not to alienate large segments of the population; it is not to make people fear their local police. When large segments of the community are afraid to work with the police and are afraid to come forward and report crimes, then police have a harder time enforcing laws. As a former mayor, I have seen first hand how important it is for a local police force to have a good relationship with the community it serves. There must be an equal sense of trust and respect.”
(Statement, 5/23/2002)
Representative José Serrano (D-NY)
“The idea [of having local police enforce civil immigration law] was developed without full consideration of its ramifications. It will undermine trust in and cooperation with the police by immigrant communities. It will lead to expanded racial profiling. And it could cost the Federal government when those local and state authorities come seeking reimbursement.”
(Statement, 5/23/2002)
Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
“Allowing state and local police to enforce the civil component of federal immigration law would be detrimental to all Americans. Immigrants would become more suspicious of and less willing to work with local police. When large segments of the community are afraid to come forward and report crimes or testify in criminal cases, police have a very difficult time enforcing laws.”
(Letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft, 5/31/2002)
Representative Bob Filner (D-CA)
“Imposing state and local police forces with the responsibility of enforcing immigration laws will divert resources that local police forces need to maintain our public safety. These resources are already scarce. . . . We must support local and state police, and demand that the Department of Justice respect the responsibility of police to protect us from crime, and not to meddle in the application of immigration law”
(Democratic Radio Response in Spanish, 6/1/02)
Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA)
“The strength of America lies in its diversity. We cannot pursue a policy that will inevitably make people targets for arrest and detention simply because of their ethnicity, or the way they look or speak.”
(Democratic Radio Response in Spanish, 6/3/02)
California State Assembly Members Manny Diaz and Marco Antonio Firebaugh
“WHEREAS, [l]ocal and state law enforcement agencies in California already respond to a great many calls for service unrelated to immigration, and the additional obligations of enforcing immigration law would strain law enforcement resources . . . [l]ocal law enforcement officers, while talented and committed to proper enforcement of the laws, are not trained in immigration matters . . . [i]immigration enforcement has traditionally been a federal responsibility, and prior efforts by local authorities to assist have resulted in significant civil rights abuses against American citizens and law abiding persons . . . be it resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, that under existing California law, state and local law enforcement agencies lack the legal authority to stop, arrest or detain persons based upon suspected or alleged violations of the civil provisions of the federal immigration laws.”
(Assembly Joint Resolution 57, introduced by Assembly Members Diaz and Firebaugh, not yet voted on, 6/2002)
Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo
“The development and enforcement of national immigration policy is—and should remain—the responsibility of the federal government. . . . Residents of our Los Angeles communities will have to balance the desire to assist local law enforcement with their fear of federal immigration officials investigating not only them, but their family and their friends.”
(“Delgadillo Opposes Federal Plan to Allow Local Police to Enforce Immigration Laws,” Metropolitan News-Enterprise, 6/4/02)
San Antonio (TX) Assistant City Manager Rolando Bono
“As a city, we’ve opposed unfunded mandates. We will be concerned with the shift of additional responsibilities to the local level.”
(“Sheriff, Top Cop Blast INS Proposal,” San Antonio Express News, 4/5/02)
Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery
“What you don’t want is people who are in this country legally being harassed or embarrassed as a result of a failure to educate our officers. We don’t want to make it difficult for legitimate visitors to our country to enjoy this country.”
(“Plan Would Involve Police in Immigration Cases,” Columbus Dispatch, 4/18/02)
Queens City (NY) Councilman and Former New York City Police Officer Hiram Monserrate
“It would be a terrible mistake for the NYPD to participate in the enforcement of immigration laws. There has to be a positive police-community relation and if the NYPD gets involved in doing INS work, immigrants are going to trust the police even less.”
(“INS Work Improper for NYPD,” New York Daily News, 5/6/02)
Francie Noyes, press secretary for Arizona Governor Jane Hull (R)
“If they [the INS] need help, they should add to the federal resources.”
(“Police can now be drafted to enforce immigration law,” Christian Science Monitor, 8/19/2002)
Community Leaders and Advocates
Most Reverend Thomas G. Wenski, Auxiliary Bishop of Miami and Chairman, Committee on Migration of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
“We believe that if carried out, such proposals would undermine the safety of both immigrants and citizens, and would overburden law enforcement… [Undocumented immigrants] will be less likely to report crimes that they witness and to cooperate with police and prosecutors in investigating and prosecuting crimes. This will hurt immigrants as well as the wider community, by undermining the efforts of law enforcement and local communities to fight crime.”
(Letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft, 4/23/02)
Raymond Flynn (Catholic Alliance, former mayor of Boston), David Keene (American Conservative Union), and Grover Norquist (Americans for Tax Reform)
“[W]e believe that the policy change contemplated by the Department of Justice represents a dramatic shift which is likely to undercut local law enforcement while raising troubling new questions about the intersection of local law enforcement and Federal law. We support the efforts of this Administration to fight terrorism at home and abroad, but believe such efforts are ill served by sweeping and unnecessary policy changes that would have far broader implications for a free society.”
(Letter to President George W. Bush, 5/30/2002)
Several National Ethnic, Religious, Civil Rights, and Immigrant Advocacy Organizations
“We believe that expanding the purview of state and local law enforcement officers to include civil immigration law could have serious, detrimental effects on community safety. We fear that the damage this arrangement would do in eroding non-citizens’ trust in law enforcement could have far-reaching and unintended consequences, and we respectfully ask that your administration reject this proposal.”
(Letter to President George W. Bush signed by American Immigration Lawyers Association, Arab American Institute, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, League of United Latin American Citizens, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund, National Council of La Raza, National Immigration Forum, and Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, 4/24/02)
52 National and Local Organizations, Businesses, and Attorneys
“This ill-conceived policy reversal will almost certainly increase racial profiling of both immigrants and non-immigrants at the hands of law enforcement authorities…any trust that currently exists will be shattered and violent crime against immigrants, from muggings to modern-day slavery, will almost certainly rise. The key to providing adequate police protection to immigrant communities is to build trust in the authorities, not to build new walls between the community and the police.”
(Letter to President George W. Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft, 4/24/02)
National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium
“We strongly oppose such a policy because of the extreme damage it would do to the ability of police to work with Asian Pacific American communities…Because many hate crimes are targeted against immigrant communities, investigating those crimes will be made even more difficult if police are tasked with the responsibility of enforcing immigration laws…[community members] will be even more afraid…fewer witnesses will come forth, crimes will go unreported, and people will be less likely to report suspicious activity – including acts leading up to terrorism.”
(Letter to the White House signed by Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO, Hmong National Development, Japanese American Citizens League, Korean American Coalition, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, National Federation of Filipino American Associations, Organization of Chinese Americans, and Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, 4/19/02)
Raul Yzaguirre, President and CEO, National Council of La Raza (NCLR)
“NCLR believes that extending immigration enforcement authority to local police would not make the nation safer from terrorism but, rather, would lead to the erosion of trust between communities and the police, which would make us all less safe…By creating a climate of fear, DOJ’s proposed action would prevent immigrants and others who live in tightly-knit communities from providing information about crimes and public safety that police need to be effective.”
(Letter to President George W. Bush, 4/22/02)
Family Violence Prevention Fund
“Strong relationships between law enforcement and the community is [sic] one of the most valuable law enforcement tools available. . . . Immigration enforcement by local police undermines these strong relationships, and a local police department that enforces civil immigration laws will lose the trust of the community it serves and protects.”
(Letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft, 9/30/2002)
Kentucky Domestic Violence Association
“This [change in policy would] have a chilling effect on the reporting of domestic violence and victims’ efforts to escape the abuse. Even the mention that the Department of Justice is considering the use of local law enforcement to check immigration status will be exploited by abusers within the immigrant community. The abuser will seek to maintain control through the use of threats that calling the police will get one or both of them deported.”
(Letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft, 4/25/2002)
City of Takoma Park (MD)
“We the residents of the City of Takoma Park hereby urge that, to the extent legally permissible. . . [a]ll City officials and employees continue—in keeping with our City's Sanctuary status, and with our long and distinguished history of protecting the human rights of our residents—to preserve all Takoma Park residents' freedoms of speech, religion, assembly, and privacy; and that all Local law enforcement personnel refrain from participating in the enforcement of federal immigration laws.”
(Resolution on civil liberties, October 29, 2002,
http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=11105&c=207)
Frank Sharry, Executive Director, National Immigration Forum
“If the Justice Department is going to give the green light to local law enforcement to cooperate with the INS, it’ll jeopardize the efforts by local police to build relations with local communities. It’s a classic post-Sept. 11 Justice Department move. They want to improve security, but they’re driving away the very people who can provide help to law enforcement.”
(“Ruling Clears Way to Use Police in Immigration Duty,” The New York Times, 4/4/02)
John Dulles, Regional Director, U.S. Civil Rights Commission, Denver, Colorado
“No other metropolitan area in the United States considered cross-deputization after Salt Lake City voted it down. Folks all over the country were aware of that happened in Salt Lake City, and even the Justice Department backed off to some extent… Public safety police functions are not compatible with making determinations about who is in this country illegally. Most police departments have passed policies to limit cooperation with immigration authorities. They don’t want a part of the community fearful of reporting crimes or cooperating.”
(“Rights Advocates Slam Plan for Local Police to Enforce Immigration Laws,” Salt Lake Tribune, 4/5/02)
Jennifer Corrigan, Public Policy Director, Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence
“Studies consistently show that battered women often do not access the criminal justice system because abusers feed them misinformation about the laws in this country. The Department of Justice proposal would make abuser’s threats real. It would give batterers an extra tool for exerting control over their victims and give U.S. citizen and lawful permanent resident batterers free reign to continue to commit the crime of domestic violence, free from the fear that their partner will report them. Is this the message that the Department of Justice wants to send to victims of crime?”
(Statement, 5/30/2002)
Margie McHugh, Executive Director, New York Immigration Coalition
“This would have a devastating effect on immigrant communities because…immigrants would feel they can’t come forward to report crimes for fear of deportation.”
(“U.S. May Seek Local Aid in INS Enforcement,” Newsday, 4/4/02)
Cheryl Little, Executive Director, Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center
“It’s going to make our community less safe, because immigrants are going to be less likely to trust the local police. This is going to drive people further underground.”
(“Immigrant Activists Rip Proposal,” Miami Herald, 4/25/02)
Laura Murphy and Timothy Edgar, American Civil Liberties Union
“Involving state and local law enforcement in immigration status issues will have a severe impact on the civil rights and civil liberties of immigrant communities. Such a policy will increase racial profiling and other unjustified stops, not only of undocumented workers, but also of legal residents and United States citizens who ‘look foreign.’ As you are aware, many of these problems have plagued earlier efforts of state and local law enforcement officers to become involved in civil immigration enforcement. For example, an effort in 1997 in Chandler, Arizona on the part of local police to enforce immigration laws resulted in widespread civil rights abuses, including unjustified arrests of legal residents and citizens of Mexican descent, severely strained police and community relations, and lead to substantial liability on the part of the municipality.”
(Letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft, 6/4/2002)
Frank Delgadillo, Orange County (CA) Congregation Community Organization
“This is going to affect our community. As it is, people are afraid of the police. They’re afraid to report what’s happening in the community.”
(“Immigrants Worried, Coe Pleased by Proposal,” Orange County Register, 4/4/02)
Teresa Ortiz, President, Casa Guanajuato (TX)
“This is a step backwards for immigrants because it would only make us suspicious of our local police and that’s not good in building trust, especially among recent immigrants.”
(“U.S. May Let State, Local Authorities Enforce Federal Immigration Laws,” Dallas Morning News, 4/3/02)
Henry Lacayo, President, El Concilio del Condado de Ventura (CA)
“It’s a bad, bad idea. Many immigrants are not being preyed upon by unscrupulous folks so if the police become involved in immigration enforcement this will drive them further underground.”
(“Proposal for Police to Act as INS Agents Denounced,” Ventura County Star, 4/6/02)
Xuan-Trang Tran-Thien, Associate Director, Washington Alliance for Immigrant and Refugee Justice
"If the Seattle Police Department is serious about community policing, then they need to develop trust within those communities ... including the immigrant or refugee communities.”
(“Police balk at watching for illegal immigrants,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 5/2/2002)
Pramila Jayapal, Director, Hate Free Zone Campaign of Washington
"We have tried this approach before in 1942 with the Japanese internment; we can't possibly repeat those experiments again. One of our biggest concerns is that policies like this could lead to increased racial profiling. . . . Immigration enforcement is a federal matter, and local police are responsible for protecting the community—all of the community—including immigrants and non-immigrants, citizens and non-citizens.”
(“Police balk at watching for illegal immigrants,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 5/2/2002)
Allan Wenick, Immigration Attorney, New York
“Law enforcement resources are limited. They should be used to go after bad people, not immigrants who are only seeking a better life for themselves and their families.”
(“INS Work Improper for NYPD,” New York Daily News, 5/6/02)