Research Of Whether The Police Should Enforce Immigration Policies
The United State federal government wants to use the local police departments to deport undocumented immigrants. Police organizations are now mandating that officers be more forceful in enforcing federal immigration policies. Although police departments and I.C.E work closely together in cases dealing with undocumented immigrants, the role of the police departments is only to be use as a tool to aid when criminal proceedings are already established, and not to search and apprehend undocumented immigrants.
The United State federal government strategy to use local police departments to deport undocumented immigrants pose some challenges for police organizations. Enforcement of immigration policies has traditionally been the federal government responsibility. Police organizations will need to engage in complex immigration laws and practices to enforce immigration policies. This is not a simple matter for local police. Enforcing immigration policies and laws can keep police department from their main goal in preventing and investigating crimes.
For many police department, enforcing federal immigration law would diminish the trust and cooperation police official develop with citizens in the community. A main goal for law enforcement is to maintain a cooperative relationship with members of the community. This can aid in solving crimes and assist victims that maybe are too afraid to ask for help. Pressuring local police agencies to take significantly larger roles in immigration enforcement is an issue that is confronting modern police agencies today.
Officers on patrol duty are instructed to stop and inquire of citizen immigration status. That could lead to a public outcry of ethnic profiling for officers serving minority communities. This can also raise a level of misconception that police officers and Immigration and customs Enforcement (I.C.E.), all work under a unified agency with the same laws governing them. It can strain the relationship local law enforcement has with the diverse communities they serve.
Furthermore, it will impact how contemporary law enforcement organization do business. According to Edward Thibault, author of Proactive Police Management, the goals of police organizations is protecting life and property, preserving the peace, preventing criminal behavior and apprehending criminals. Law enforcement chiefs, and supervisors maintain this is key to a successful police organization. Determining enforcement policies is essentially a matter for the local police administrators to decide. Many local police chiefs and administrator’s play an instrumental role in standards for proper training in human diversity and community relation. They account for the smooth functioning of police departments, and multi-agency network and connections, while keeping with policies and guidelines that echo their own standards and morals, and not waiver with changing administrations. Ideally politics shouldn’t play a role in local police matters. Local politics can have influence on how police department hire, train, and diversify. But, the constitution allows the federal government discretion to regulate the actions of state and local law enforcement departments by restricting the federal funds and grants they receive. This has major impact to local law enforcement organizations. Some police administrators are having to implement policies that are in contrast to common police practices, and engage in what some believe to be illegal immigration enforcement by local and state police. Nowhere does it state that local law enforcement should act as an enforcer of federal immigration laws. Immigration is a federal police power with federal statutes.I.C.E., state and local law enforcement all have arresting powers and can detain people who engage in criminal behaviors. But I.C.E primary roles is promoting homeland security and public safety. It does this by enforcing U.S borders policies, and the traffic of illegal immigration. Their Special Response Teams (SRT), handles high-risk arrest and search warrants similar to local law enforcement SWAT units does on a daily basis. ICE officers has jurisdiction to identify, arrest, and prosecute violators of U.S. immigration laws. In addition, ICE is equipped with Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) unit. They specialize in detaining and deporting people who are in the United States illegally. ICE is solely responsible to enforce the nation's immigration laws.
In contrast, local law enforcement agencies do not have these enhance jurisdictional capabilities. A patrol officer’s main duties involves proactive search for violators of the law and to preserve the public against safety and hazardous situations. Some of their duties also entails issuing citations for municipal ordinances such as public intoxication and moving traffic violations. But, the police officer’s primary role is to protect the public from people engaging in criminal behavior. This is done by conducting investigations for misdemeanor and felony offenses against citizens in the community.
The federal government laws do not permit local police to enforce immigration policies. It is outside the scope of law enforcement duties and the oath they took to protect and serve citizens. Furthermore, without specific training from a federal program, it is illegal to arrest someone because of their immigration status absent criminal charges.Currently there are policies in place for local police departments to work cooperatively with ICE. Police administrators work in partnership with ICE in order to give patrol officers the discretion on whether to question citizens on their immigration status. In many jurisdictions, ICE has access to local law enforcement databases. They can use information they receive from local police databases to conduct their own investigations, raids, and deportations. The use of enhance technology makes it possible for local law enforcement to share information with federal law enforcement agencies. Information such as phone numbers, addresses, identifiable scars, marks and tattoos are critical to ICE investigations and is use frequent by their intelligence units.
Although it is not police practice to ask about an individual's immigration status, while engaging in their lawful duties, officers will detain and notify I.C.E if they believe a person is in violation of the immigration laws. A warrant must be established prior to detaining a person for undocumented status. The police departments consequently can be used as a tool to aid when criminal proceedings are already established, but not to search and apprehend undocumented immigrants. Police administrators and I.C.E have worked closely together and continue to do so when dealings with undocumented immigrants.
There is a misconception that undocumented immigrants are more likely to engage in criminal behavior because they don’t fully understand U.S. laws. Research found this to be categorically inaccurate. A study conducted by Oxford University Press suggests that unauthorized immigrants actually have lower crime rates than U.S. citizens, partly because they want to work and earn money and not draw attention to themselves.
Studies continue to show that highly segregated immigrant communities are actually safer. This is in contrary to popular beliefs that immigrants contribute to criminal endeavors, instead; immigrants try to conform to U.S. society by not to breaking the law. Stephanie Kent, an associate professor of sociology and criminology at Cleveland State University, conducted a quantitative study showing local police involvement in immigration can actually make communities less safe. Some police administrators have acknowledged that fact, and have pushed back against the mandate federal government are imposing on local law enforcement departments. Kent study show at least 42 percent of local police departments have official immigration policies written for officer’s role in undocumented immigrant.
Current policies highlight immigration enforcement as a federal police power, and is unlawful for local or state police officers to question people on immigration status. However, should officer encounter an undocumented individual through the course of their lawful duties, officers will be justified in detaining them for ICE. A number of local police departments have already added these written directives to their manuals for their officers. Recent changes to political landscape is forcing police administrators to recalculate policies that will alter the behaviors of police organizations. Police departments has always been a city and state run organization, with little input from the federal government on law enforcement activities. But current administration policies are changing the ways local law enforcement behaves within the communities they are sworn to protect and serve.
Current police policy should focused on investigating, solving and prosecuting state misdemeanors and felonies and local offenses. When someone gets arrested and taken to jail, there are a number of ways ice can use their information to learn of their immigration status. Jail officials will also likely notify ice of person suspicious of illegal entry into the United States. Data tools can be used to justify law enforcement role in immigration enforcement.
