March 5, 2009 10:56 AM
Recently, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report citing several criticisms of the Secure Communities Program (also known under its statutory designation as 287g). The program, under which local police agencies are trained to enforce immigration law by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE), has been in existence since 1996, but has been increasingly utilized under the Bush Administration. The report highlighted several problems associated with the program including a lack of data collection, inconsistent programmatic goals, and poor supervision of local initiatives. The harshest criticism though, was reserved for the apparent net-widening effect of the program. Initially designed to alert immigration officials about undocumented violent felony offenders, the GAO found that the program has often been utilized to place non-violent, low-level violators into deportation proceedings.
Although this finding is extremely problematic, it is just the beginning of the slippery slope of problems that surface when local police officers are mandated to enforce immigration laws. Problems such as a growing distrust of local police, alienation of entire communities from the public safety process, and a general reluctance to report victimization and crime are all well-documented consequences of poor relations between police and immigrant communities. Having police officers acting as immigration enforcers will only exacerbate these problems.
In early recognition of the special needs of immigrant communities, police agencies around the country have historically taken steps to make inroads in these communities. With the emergence of community policing, police agencies expanded their outreach to all communities, especially recent immigrants. In Chicago during the 1990’s, the police created a system of community forums held in both English and Spanish in an effort to build trust with their growing Hispanic immigrant community. In Anaheim (CA), the Police Chief actively recruited an Arab speaking officer in order to assist the large Arab American population residing in the City and in Houston (TX), the Chief publicly announced a policy whereby his officers would not inquire about immigration status when dealing with crime victims. But one by one, these initiatives are being eroded and even reversed. In Anaheim, the County Government recently announced that their Sheriff’s Department will now enforce violations of immigration law. In Houston, police policy was changed in 2008 allowing officers for the first time to ask people about their residential status and enforce violations of immigration law.
The net result of this swing in priorities will be an overall decrease in the level of safety for all communities as the advances gained through community policing fade away in exchange for a tough immigration stance. To be sure, programs such as the Secure Communities (287g) Program and the recent reversals in individual departmental policies prioritize immigration enforcement over public safety. It will be quickly realized though, that these initiatives come at a substantial price, that price being the overall security of our communities. Years of research into crime and safety have demonstrated that communities are the safest when they take part in the co-production of a secure environment by forming active partnerships with local police. When one community is omitted from this process or worse, becomes the target of this process, public safety becomes increasingly out of reach and all communities suffer. It is imperative that local police agencies resist the call to move toward becoming immigration enforcers and instead remain the unifying agents envisioned under the community policing philosophy.
Christopher Ortiz, Ph.D. is a Sergeant in the City of Glen Cove Police Department. In addition to his duties as a police officer, he is currently the Deputy Director of the Center for Security and Disaster Response at New York Institute of Technology where he is also a lecturer in Criminal Justice. Dr. Ortiz has authored numerous reports concerning police practices including police and immigrant community relations.
Hopefully more officers from both counties will follow Dr. Ortiz. We need others to shed more light on the conterproductive practices of actual or "wanna be" 287g accords.
By Luis March 5, 2009 01:38 PM
These policies essentially encourage racial profiling and violate basic civil rights. The answer: fix our broken immigration system so we can all feel safe while respecting the law.
By Maryann Sinclair Slutsky March 6, 2009 11:37 AM