What should be the role of local police in enforcing immigration law?
Posted at 5:00 AM on April 28, 2010
by Eric Ringham
(25 Comments)
Filed under: Immigration
A controversial new law in Arizona gives police the power to detain anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally. Today's Question: What should be the role of local police in enforcing immigration law?
Comments (25)
Perhaps we should look to the real estate principal of "Adverse Possession." If a property has been used for a period of time without objection, the user can continue to use it unimpeded.
Perhaps the same with immigrants. If the person or persons have been here for a period of timeand done everything that is expected of a citizen, they should be allowed to stay and a path to citizenship should be open to them.
some of these comments are so damn ignorant first of being in this country illegally is not the same as killing or any other harming of a person, you're just comparing them because their crimes, second we would be pro illegal if you would accept immigration reform. But you either are so focus on the it would reward lawbreakers you talking about how it's not fair to the legal people who had family status etc you claim it's not broken or you don't want to change it which is dumb
If illegal aliens don't have to obey the law, why should any law be obeyed? Why not empty the prisons and let murder and rape reign where law and order should be? You people who are in favor of amnesty disgrace this country and your own citizenship. These illegals do not love this country, they love our money. They show their disrespect and disdain for our laws by illegally entering this country when there is a legal way to do it. Then these law breakers are defended by misguided fools who think they will make good citizens. They have made a mockery out of our laws and they had ought to be sent back to their own country.
It should be the role of the local police to enforce laws within their given juristiction, not for the police to play the role of the INS.
It facinates me that the left is so Pro illegal immigrant! Its like they are in support of people coming to our country and breaking our laws! They hated Bush for doing anything about 9-11! They are boycotting one of our states! Why is the maddness of the dems so accepted by the general public? There are two obvious causes, 1. The left are all on drugs...and deporting illegals would threatend their supply line and 2, They are all communist, stopping the flow of illegals would hinder their chances to create a population base less intelligent than them. In turn they would have no one to exploit. What needs to happen is 50's style witchhunt of communist drug using Dems!...We need the ghost of Joe McCarthy!
This is really a no-brainer folks! No body is picking on Latinos! It just happens that by and large most illegal immigrants currently in the US are Latino.
It is basically a question of what is LEGAL and what is not!
It IS illegal to trespass in this country!
There ARE established guidelines to obtain legal citizenship here. I have trouble understanding why they will pay a coyote 5 to 10k for smuggling them into the country then wail about the expense of following the rules to become a LEGAL citizen.
Bottom line IS that sneaking to the country IS illegal. If ya break the laws of this country ya gotta pay the penalty for that action.!
Those who are so concerned about the welfare of the illegal's should consider how fairly they are being treated by their employers. For that matter, those people that consume products placed on the market by means of the illegal's are also part of the oppression of these people that they say they're trying to protect. How rude..
There are laws in this country and they should be enforced. If those laws need to be changed, then change them. Until they're changed, they should be enforced.
Considering so many people are saying that the economy will suffer without these illegal's, just what are they saying about the current labor system that we have as a great nation ?? Just how are these people contributing to the welfare of this country above and beyond what the current legal citizens should be doing ??
I could be incorrect about this, but I don't remember reading where the Arizona law was specific about singling out the Latino population. Perhaps there are a lot of people on both sides of the Southern Arizona border that feel the current US immigration laws are being broken.
Are the Americans that say they are on the side of the illegal's truly on the illegal's side. Maybe some are afraid that if the illegal's have to leave, they might actually have to get a job and forfeit welfare programs. Perhaps they feel that if the illegal's received a fair wage and benefits package the cost of products would increase.
I do NOT have a problem with immigration, thats' what made this country !! I feel that if you're going to be here, follow and obey the laws governed by those we elect to Public office. If you do NOT like the laws, do your best to get them changed. Either way, the laws are to be followed by everyone..
Police officers should spend their time and effort enforcing other laws. If an illegal immigrant breaks other laws then yes, they should be arrested. If police start arresting people just for being undocumented immigrants, the entire latin american community will become afraid of law enforcement officers. What happens when an illegal immigrant witnesses a violent crime? Or is the victim of one? Also, police officers already lack the resources they need to do the work they are currently doing. This law stretches them even further and may get in the way of them protecting people and doing the rest of their job.
Local police should have no leeway that allows them to, in essence, "guess" someone's citizenship status and then follow up that guess by harassing people.
I don't trust white cops to tow the line on this one.
I have a problem with the illegal immigrants and even some of the legal immigrants, since they seem to think the US laws do not pertain to them, most have no respect, they speak their language in public, so you don't know whether you are being cussed out or not.
I have worked with law enforcement and it seems that the immigrants end up in trouble with the law more than Americans. I think they should have to prove they are in this country legally, even though they will do the low paying jobs that most Americans think they are too good for.
Not all of them work and pay into the system. there are a lot of them that are getting better government benefits than the American people are. As far as Social Security and them not being able to get it...HA!! I fought for six years to get disability..When I went to the hearings..immigrants, that couldn't speak English were a them and they were applying and getting disability from Social Security.
When I was on AFDC and getting $50 a month in food stamps for my daughter and me, I remember and immigrant family that was getting $1500 in money and $1000 in food stamps on the news begging for furniture and other things because they couldn't afford beds, couches, etc. Let me tell you, they were getting a heck of a lot more money than I was, and I could afford those things...granted they weren't new, but I could afford them. My daughter and I wore a lot of rummage sale/garage sale clothing and sat on furniture bought from same places or second hand stores.
So don't tell me that all of them are working and paying into the system, because they aren't, and they want the good life and see nothing wrong with being here illegally and taking anything and everything they want.
So in conclusion, if the police want to ask for the green card or proof they are here in the US legally, they need to be able to do it, since it isn't working for the federal government to monitor the illegal immigrants.
Local police should not have a role in illegal immigration at all because there is too much opportunity for police to abuse their authority and the human rights of anybody the police suspect is an illegal immigrant. Our American History is chocked full of reported and unreported stops by police officers in which Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, and Natives were assaulted, incarcerated, or murdered because the police had the authority to profile and stop people of color. Surely, we forget the massive numbers of LEGAL Asian Americans that were arrested and placed in concentration camps during World War II. The forced march of Cherokee Indians from George, famously known now as the Trail of Tears, is another horrific example of "supposedly illegal people of color" being driven out because many white Americans did not want them in their community. The signing of this bill furthers those same racist aims (always disguised as something else).
The police should ENFORCE the laws of this country. not only in Arizona but the entire country. People that try to come into this country with out following the laws should be removed and prosecuted. This is not a racial issue it is an American issue. We allready have the laws on our books to deal with the issue. The question should be, why we do not have the back bone to enfirce those laws and to remove those people that break the laws.
Il Leagal aliens are just that Il-legal. That means that they are breaking the law and need to be punished for doing so.
I think it's unfortunate that Arizona has been forced to react this way due to the federal government's ineptness. No one wants racial stereo-typing, but come on, all law enforcement agencies should work together to enforce immigration laws.
Has anyone consulted with the American People as to what our immigration policies should look like?
I doubt that many of us approve of allowing nearly a million legal and illegal immigrants into this country each year.
We can't continue to be the release valve for the over-population problems that the developing world has forced upon itself.
How do you want your grand kids to live? In a massively overpopulated country where the American Dream is dead due to depleted resources (Americans use a LOT of resources)?
Time for reform.
We are not living in a perfect world. Our legal immigration system is broken. Every INS worker should be let go. We need to close down the Florida Krome detention center . We need a new INS. We need strong borders, strong laws and legal immigration and a refuge program. Undocumented and illegal workers are vulnerable and exploted. They still need protection.
What happened to the notion of a secure border? Just because the economy is bad in other countries doesn't mean people should sneak into this country illegally. If we as a nation decide we want additional people here they should apply fo a quota system just like everyone else. If they are here because they chose to break the law they should be deported pronto. Build a wall if necessary and kick those people out who came here under false pretenses. Close down those businesses who hire illegal aliens. And another thing, changing the language to say "Undocumented workers" is a joke. Call these people criminals!
The Arizona immigration law does at least one good thing: it exposes to public view the mean-spiritedness of the right-wing ideologues who pushed it through.
Well said Mary Ellison.
Local law enforcement should not be responsible for immigration matters period. These matters are already covered by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This is a federal unit responsible for dealing with illegal immigration etc.
Are local officers trained in immigration law? Do they know how to properly respond - to know what visas are valid?? My guess is no. One of my immigration clients was detained near the California border (he did not cross the border nor intend to) as the CA immigration officers did not think that his H-1B (employment) visa was an actual visa one could obtain. He was held for 3 hours as the officers researched his visa and if it was valid. How will local officers know how to tell if one is legal if immigration officers cannot?
The law was a response, but it was not a well thought out response.
And Steve C. I disagree - I do not think illegal immigration causes crime. If Juarez, MX and the border is any example - I would argue drugs, money or lack of and other things involved that are the true cause of the crime.
Let's stop making people and plants illegal, that's ineffective and ridiculous. This garden planet needs all the help we can give. The presence of the interconnection of all beings is being made manifest. Let's respect and appreciate this novel existence with kindness and compassion, courage and co-creativity.
I say we beg undocumented workers to stay. They bring billions of dollars into the USA economy by paying taxes and social security - and they will never be able to claim any of it.
This anti-immigrant bill passed in Arizona reminds me of my life in South Africa during Apartheid where Blacks were forced to carry "passes" and the police could harass them for it at any time. It puts power into the hands of the police, encourages abuse and will up become an ugly human rights issue in Arizona. If we don't speak out, this bill could spread around the county. Stop it now!
Local police are not responsible for enforcing immigration law. They are responsible for enforcing state law and local ordinances. Federal law enforcement are responsible for enforcing immigration law.
If local police were responsible for enforcing immigration law (and where they are asked to do so under the 287(g) program), research has shown that undocumented immigrants are less likely to report crime. Do we want an undocumented immigrant victim of domestic violence not to report that crime?
We need to look at the reasons people come to the U.S. without documents. The reasons are many, but include family reunification and economic opportunity. We need immigrants to contribute to our economy and we have always based our immigration policy on family reunification. Rather than turning entreprenuerial and family-oriented (values we certainly espouse for U.S. citizens) undocumented immigrants away, we should create laws and opportunities like we did the immigrants of the late 1800s/early 1900s, our ancestors unless your ancestor is an American Indian (i.e. the homestead act).
In addition, until we address the poverty that exists in many countries from which immigrants migrate, we cannot expect them to remain in their home countries where there are no opportunities to make a living wage. We need to look at the root causes of this in addition to band aid solutions like the Arizona law, which not only does not address the root cause, but is also discriminatory and in direct conflict with our American values.
We need every tool available to fight illegal immigration. After living around the violence and crime that illegal immigration causes in Arizona I left Tucson and moved to Sioux Falls. Americans that don't live near the border just can't understand the impact a loose border has on safety and quality of life. I have no problem with people living here legally. I rented a room to a University of Arizona student who was here legally from Mexico .
We need lots more immigration-- more folks to pay social security taxes so retiring boomers don't bankrupt the system.
If we start enforcing immigration laws, then the economy will slow down. Who do you think is bussing the tables, cleaning the hotel rooms and wiping the butts at the nursing home? It sure isn't American born people since they get welfare and unemployment as incentives to not work.
If illegal immigrants are reluctant to report crime because they're afraid the cops will have to turn them in to ICE, that's a problem.
It is not their responsibility to go looking for it, but, when part of their daily business they find it they can't turn a blind eye.
Right now, they are turning a blind eye.
| April 2010 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | |
Master Archive
Recent Entries
- Have changes to the airline passenger experience affected your willingness to fly?
- Should marijuana be available for medical use in Minnesota?
- Do the struggles of Minnesota's business icons signal trouble for the state's economy?
- Do you know whether insurance would cover your losses in a major storm?
- What kind of recycling program would you be likely to use the most?
- Would you support paying people for organ or tissue donations?
- Have personal relationships in the workplace ever presented a problem for you?
- Do you think Facebook is a passing fad?
- Will you be less likely to visit the Minnesota Zoo without its dolphins?
- Should authorities in the Twin Cities change the way they warn people about tornadoes?
Public Insight Network
The Public Insight Network draws upon your experiences to help shape our coverage.More
Categories
Services
In The Spotlight
-
Sound Learning
Looking for ways to ensure your students are doing quality research from credible sources? Sound Learning is a launching point to Minnesota Public Radio's content on the Web. -
The Current Music Blog
Your daily note for good music, news and pop culture. With attempted jokes.
- Become a Member
- Member Connect Accounts
- Leadership Circle
- Sustaining Members
- Member Discounts
- Become a Sponsor
- Tax Information
- Planned Giving
- Vehicle Donation
- Donate Stock