Thread: Immigration advocates want Miami-Dade sanctuary

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centreda ... 792342.htm

Posted on Wed, Oct. 18, 2006



Immigration advocates want Miami-Dade to be immigrant sanctuary

BY CASEY WOODS
cwoods@MiamiHerald.com

With the debate on immigration reform stalled in Congress, Miami immigrant advocates looked elsewhere Wednesday for inspiration: to such cities as San Francisco that have declared themselves ''sanctuaries'' where local police are barred from participating in certain kinds of immigration enforcement.

Flanked by rows of restless children wearing shirts that read ''Don't make me an orphan,'' Nora Sandigo was clear on what she wanted.

''Local politicians need to stand up and take care of the children in their own house,'' said Sandigo, executive director of the immigrant advocacy group American Fraternity.

The group wants the Miami-Dade County Commission to declare the county a sanctuary. The designation means county police would be prohibited from asking suspects about their immigration status during a traffic stop or arrest, and county officers would only participate in immigration raids targeting immigrants with criminal records and those who entered the country illegally.

The ''sanctuary'' designation proposal is part of a larger push by American Fraternity to protect undocumented immigrants. Earlier this month, the group filed a class-action lawsuit in Miami federal court on behalf of the U.S.-born children of those immigrants, arguing that their constitutional rights are being violated by the constant threat that their parents will be deported.

With legislation on comprehensive immigration law reform stalled in Washington, such action is necessary, Fraternity president Alfonso Oviedo said.

''For all practical purposes, I believe Dade County already is a sanctuary, but we want them to make it official so . . . that there will not be abuses,'' he said.

OTHER CITIES

Across the nation, other governments have established themselves as immigrant sanctuaries. Among those governments are Cambridge, Mass.; San Francisco; and Takoma Park, Md.

'If there is a resident who is not a citizen and he sees a murder, we want him to be able to come forward and not fear the first thing he will be asked is, `Are you legal?' '' said Joe Arellano, spokesman for Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco, which has had sanctuary status since the early 1980s. ``Our first responders should not be enforcers of immigration policy.''

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials would not comment on the impact of sanctuary laws on the agency's work, only saying that such decisions are in the hands of local governments.

''We would defer to counties and cities to make a determination on how they wish to proceed, though certainly we always want to have a cooperative relationship with our state and local counterparts,'' said Jamie Zuieback, an immigration agency spokeswoman. ``We do often work closely with state and local agencies, in large part because we have a shared law enforcement objective.''

Under current policy, if Miami-Dade police officers discover a suspect is an undocumented immigrant, they can call immigration officials regardless of whether the suspect is charged with a crime.

''We don't proactively seek out individuals we believe are here illegally,'' police spokesman Roy Rutland said. ``However, if in the course of an investigation or an incident we have a reason to believe a person is an illegal immigrant, then we may contact ICE and detain them.''

`CASE-BY-CASE BASIS'

The department does not have a strict policy on when an officer is allowed to ask about immigration status, Rutland said. ''We handle that on a case-by-case basis,'' he said.

Several county commissioners said they would need more information before committing to the sanctuary designation.

''I'm open to hearing about it, but I need to know more details,'' said Commissioner Jose ''Pepe'' Diaz, who was at the American Fraternity meeting on Wednesday.

Sanctuary cities have drawn fire from Congress, with House members trying to pass legislation that would, in some cases, deny some kinds of federal funding to local governments with sanctuary policies.

''They're breaking federal law because the people are here illegally,'' said Carlos Espinosa, spokesman for Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Colorado Republican who has repeatedly proposed anti-sanctuary legislation. ``Cities should not be allowed to set their own foreign policy by granting amnesty to illegals.''

Flanked by rows of restless children wearing shirts that read ''Don't make me an orphan,''

This is deliberately putting fear into a child making them wear a shirt like this. It is nothing short of child abuse. This is the same as saying to the child because I committed a crime you will be taken to an orphans home or you will be punished for the crime I have committed. Why is this allowed? This is mental and emotional abuse by the parents of these children.

This is deliberately putting fear into a child making them wear a shirt like this. It is nothing short of child abuse. This is the same as saying to the child because I committed a crime you will be taken to an orphans home or you will be punished for the crime I have committed. Why is this allowed? This is mental and emotional abuse by the parents of these children.

These folks expect to gain support by appealing to "bleeding heart" Americans who crumble at the site of a poor defenseless child. Honestly, I do feel sorry for the position these children are in, BUT NOT SORRY ENOUGH!!! Furthermore, I've noticed that each time an illegal immigrant with children goes to court, his or her children are sitting in the front row crying. I guess they hope to sway the judge with the appearance of emotional distress (it probably works in some cases).

Personally, I think social services needs to start getting involved in some of these cases, especially in situations where it is obvious the child is being used and exploited in the hopes of gaining personal favor.

Those cities that declare sanctuary cities should not receive FEDERAL FUNDS.

The cubans want it for their fellow countrymen and women and relatives that are headed to SFLA. Don't know including mexicans is going to go well with them..they don't like mexicans. It is against federal law to establish a sanctuary city..but then again, who's enforcing it? No one. People should be fired!

Originally Posted by Rockfish

The cubans want it for their fellow countrymen and women and relatives that are headed to SFLA. Don't know including mexicans is going to go well with them..they don't like mexicans. It is against federal law to establish a sanctuary city..but then again, who's enforcing it? No one. People should be fired!

The Cubans in Miami-Dade, whether we like it or not, ALL have legal status; therefore the Cubans don't have a need for a sanctuary city. If their fellow countrymen are headed to SFLA and make it to land, they're legal.