| LET POLICE DO POLICE WORK |
| Written by Maria Elena Salinas |
| Monday, June 17 2002 |
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| Officer Jose Rodriguez still remembers that evening in 1995 when a shootout took place near downtown Los Angeles. It was a drug-related murder case, and he was looking for clues that would help find the killer. Rodriguez interviewed several witnesses, but no one saw anything. No one except a very frightened undocumented immigrant I will call "Juan." After receiving assurances that he would not be deported, Juan gave police critical information that led to the arrest of a man who had the murder weapon, along with several other guns, inside his home.
Officer Rodriguez's story brings to mind the foolishness of a new Justice Department effort to train state and local police officers as quasi-immigration agents. Intent on catching would-be terrorists before they strike, Attorney General John Ashcroft wants to give police officers far-reaching powers to enforce immigration laws. Ashcroft's idea might be well-intentioned, but it might turn out to be counterproductive.
So far, police chiefs across the country have wisely opposed the plan. To date, only the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has agreed to cooperate.
In Florida, an agreement has been reached to have 35 members of a statewide Domestic Security Task Force enforce immigration laws. The South Carolina Legislature is now considering a bill to allow it to follow Florida's lead.
Local police officers are in the business of protecting the citizens of their city from crime. Many are already overwhelmed with that responsibility. Chasing those who might be in the country illegally and could potentially be terrorists would take time away from going after real criminals. They need to be chasing rapists, robbers and murderers, not the guy who crossed the border to make a buck washing dishes at the local deli.
In cities with large immigrant populations, many police departments have made the wise choice of not reporting undocumented immigrants to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. In my home state of California, police departments realized many years ago that in order to do their job, they needed the cooperation of all residents, legal or not. They found that many undocumented immigrants who witnessed a crime or were victims themselves were hesitant to report those crimes to the police out of fear they might be deported.
Another concern is having police officers commit civil-rights abuses. If they are forced to stop and question everyone who they suspect is here illegally, there is a risk that a legal immigrant or even a U.S. citizen might be questioned if he or she happens to look like a foreigner. The potential for racial profiling has not only civil-rights leaders concerned but also some White House aides, who have expressed concern about straining relations with Latin American nations and alienating Hispanic voters just months away from the midterm elections.
It is a fact that the INS is overwhelmed with work. There are 2,000 agents and an estimated 8 million undocumented immigrants in the country. Most immigrants are here to work and are otherwise law-abiding citizens. There is no reason to believe that because you crossed the border illegally you are a potential terrorist. All of the terrorists who attacked on Sept. 11 were from the Middle East or South Asia and had come into the country legally. Two of them were in violation of their visas.
We all want to feel safe and make sure this country never experiences another tragedy like 9/11. But going after all immigrants, foreign students and even tourists is not going to prevent another terrorist attack. Turning police officers into immigration agents won't either. Increased security without violating civil rights, improving the communication among intelligence agencies, citizen alertness and reaching out to other countries for cooperation should be sufficient.
Let cops be cops. If we want more immigration officers, let's hire them. |
