May 10, 2007

Immigration Laws and Police

Immigration Laws and Police

Do police say if they enforce pot smoking laws and gambling laws that they
would not be able to solve other crimes? (Casey Ross, "‘Out of control’
Immigration laws make local enforcement a joke," and "Police fear backlash in
crime-fighting," Boston Herald, June 5, 2006)
Wakefield Police Chief Rick Smith said “We have to operate within the
rules.” Lowell Police Superintendent Ed Davis said, “We clearly need some
direction from the federal government.” I thought police took an oath to defend
the Constitution. What are state laws for?
Immigrant advocates and police lament, "You can’t have significant numbers
of your population afraid to call the police." This is disingenuous.
American citizens are reluctant to cooperate with the police. During
prohibition, the Volstead Act, ordinary citizens feared cooperating with the
police then too.
So it is not the immigration laws which are the problem. Perhaps it is a
problem with the police. If FBI agents likely cooperated with organized crime
hitmen in New York and in Boston, why should citizens trust local police?
Therefore, police don't enforce immigration laws because illegal immigrants
fear reporting other crimes. Police don't enforce pot smoking laws because pot
smokers would not help police in other investigations. And, police do not
enforce gambling laws because bookies would not help police solve other crimes?
Do the Herald editors and reporters believe this?
If those laws are not enforced criminals know they can exploit illegal
immigrants, pot smokers and gamblers too. It is a question of priorities.

--
Roy Bercaw, Editor ENOUGH ROOM
Cambridge MA USA

‘Out of control’ Immigration laws make local enforcement a joke
By Casey Ross
Boston Herald Reporter
Monday, June 5, 2006 - Updated: 05:44 PM EST

Police officials statewide are decrying revolving-door treatment of illegal
immigrants they are forced to release when overwhelmed federal authorities fail
to take action, a Herald review found.
Immigration and the law
Police fear backlash in crime-fighting
ICE query statistics
Even in cases when cops verify a person is illegal, police chiefs say their
officers often can do nothing because federal immigration agents with the power
to detain them are seldom available to respond.
“It’s out of control,” Wakefield Police Chief Rick Smith said. “A lot of
them (illegal immigrants) are running around gainfully employed and it’s tough
to get a handle on it. We have to operate within the rules.”
The nation’s rules on immigration enforcement discourage local police from
becoming involved because authority is almost exclusively vested in Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the federal agency empowered to detain illegals
and initiate deportation proceedings.
[...]

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