Local Law Enforcement of Immigration Laws
For the last few decades, illegal immigration has been an issue of heated debate within the United States. Recent attempts to address the issue through local enforcement may have unsuspecting consequences and a negative impact on the Latino communities. While the majority of Latinos in the United States are native-born, many have relatives who are immigrants or are engaged in the legal procedure required to reunite with family, which involves being on a long list of names and waiting months and/or years for the process to complete (Immigration). Immigration policy not only has a direct impact on families, but on the civil rights of all Latinos as well because many American Latinos are often mistaken for illegal immigrants (Immigration). Many organizations, such as the National Council of La Raza, actively encourage immigration policy reforms that are fair and nondiscriminatory, and that focus on family reunification (Immigration). According to critics, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 led to the legalization of vast numbers of undocumented immigrants as a means of reducing unsanctioned immigration, however its main effect was to reinforce and expand established cross-border migration networks and create a th
The National Council of La Raza notes that the 2003 Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act, which was reintroduced in 2005 as an amendment to other bills, grants authority to state and local police officers to enforce all federal immigration laws, with financial incentives to states and jurisdictions that comply (State). Advocacy groups, such as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Privacy Information Center, worry that the databases may be incomplete or erroneous, noting the track record of inaccuracy by the National Crime Information Center (Chen). According to the NCLR, legal experts and immigrant advocates, as well a many law enforcement agencies, believe that this "policy shift is in direct conflict with long-standing legal tradition" (State). At least 68 state or local governmental entities have adopted separation ordinances that clarify that "public safety officials may not question a person about immigration status, nor question, arrest or detain any person for violations of federal civil immigration laws except when immigration status is an element of the crime" (Fact). According to the DHS, when state or local law enforcement officials process the fingerprints of individuals who are registered for an immigration violation, federal authorities will be alerted automatically, and local police can detain the suspect (Chen). riving business in fraudulent documents (Nevins). These unintended consequences laid the foundation for the anti-immigration backlash that eventually emerged during the 1990's, partially due to political and bureaucratic entrepreneurs who sparked public sentiment by focusing on the border as both the source of the problem and the site of policy solution (Nevins). Moreover, criminals may use such policies to their advantage, relying on Latinos' fears that they will be deported if they notify authorities of criminal activity (Fact). border and to the massive infusion of enforcement-related resources, such as California's Operation Gatekeeper (Nevins). Critics argue that merging policing and immigration law-enforcement not only undermines civil rights, but may also indirectly threaten public safety (Chen). Critics of local law enforcement of immigration laws claim that such policies create an atmosphere of mistrust and ultimately endanger the Hispanic community because they will be less likely to report criminal activity, as it degrades the relationship and trust that law enforcement officials have built with the Latino communities (Pendleton). Critics believe these new policies will hamper terrorist and other criminal investigations and will have a significant negative impact on Latino communities (State). Local officials fear that cooperation of immigrants reporting crime would be compromised if local police "were given the authority of INS officers" (Fact).
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Acceptance Essays
