Thread: Immigration Sanctuary Policies Lead to Repeat Offenses

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Immigration 'Sanctuary' Policies Lead to Repeat Offenses, Report Says
By Fred Lucas
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
January 10, 2007

(CNSNews.com) - Illegal immigrants charged in criminal cases are frequently released without ever facing federal authorities thanks largely to local governments' "sanctuary" policies, according to a Justice Department audit.

Many of these illegal immigrants are arrested up to six times after being released for drug-related charges, robbery, assault, weapons charges and other offenses, it said.

The report reviews how 752 state, county and municipal governments are spending the $287.1 million in federal funds under the State Criminal Assistance Program, which covers the cost to incarcerate illegal immigrants charged in criminal cases.

The audit found these local governments frequently did not follow the rules of accepting the grants by fully cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The report highlights a larger problem of lax immigration enforcement at the local level, said Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, a government watchdog group that is suing the cities of Los Angeles and Chicago for laws preventing enforcement.

The Cook County, Ill., government recently approved a law preventing county employees from assisting with immigration enforcement or reporting illegal immigration to federal authorities.

Los Angeles adopted a policy prohibiting police from asking about a person's immigration status and restricting police officers from cooperating with the federal government.

"Most major cities in the United States have some type of 'sanctuary' law, because they have a political agenda opposed to the laws," Fitton told Cybercast News Service. "Local governments can't make more restrictive immigration laws, but they must obey the current federal immigration laws."

A sampling of 100 criminal cases involving illegal immigrants shows 73 individuals accounted for a total of 429 arrests, 878 charges and 241 convictions. Most of these charges - 213 - were burglary, robbery or theft. That was followed by 166 drug-related crimes, the audit said.

"If this data is indicative of the full population of 262,105 criminal histories, the rate at which released criminal aliens are re-arrested is extremely high," said the audit, completed by the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General as required by a request from Congress in 2005.

'Bare minimum'

ICE officials were dissatisfied with all of the "sanctuary" jurisdictions, according to the report.

But, the federal audit specifically cites the state of Oregon and the city of San Francisco, which have policies that prevent police or any government officials from enforcing federal immigration laws, even though these governments receive $3.4 million and $1.1 million respectively from the federal program.

The two were cited as the only local governments receiving more than $1 million in federal aid that have specific "sanctuary" policies on the books. Other authorities have similar laws with different names.

San Francisco provided the "bare minimum" of cooperation to ICE, the audit quotes one ICE agent as saying.

ICE doesn't have access to San Francisco jail records. The city's administrative code states "no department, agency, commission, officer or employee ... shall use any city funds or resources to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration law or to gather or disseminate information regarding the immigration status of individuals."

Meanwhile, a San Francisco police department order says "a member (of the police) shall not inquire into an individual's immigration status or release or threaten to release information to the INS regarding an individual's identity or immigration status."

Still, San Francisco is "consistent with its obligations under the state and federal law to adhere to the city of refuge ordinance. This ordinance prohibits the use of city resources to assist the enforcement of federal immigration law except in limited circumstances consistent with state and federal law," city officials said in the audit.

Other state and local governments are less hostile about working with federal immigration authorities, but won't take a pro-active approach.

Oregon's sanctuary law says "no law enforcement agency ... of the state of Oregon or any political subdivision of the state shall use agency moneys, equipment or personnel for the purpose of detecting or apprehending persons whose only violation is that they are in the United States in violation of federal laws."

Despite that, Oregon has been cooperative with federal authorities, ICE agents said in the audit. Also, Oregon officials told auditors it "does not infringe on the exchange of information with ICE."

New York City, which gets $15.8 million from the federal program, doesn't have a sanctuary law per se, but New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg issued an executive order that says, "Law enforcement shall not inquire about a person's immigration status unless investigating illegal activity other than mere status as an undocumented alien."

New York City officials told auditors there is no prohibition on exchanging information with ICE on individuals who have been arrested.

Permissive immigration policies at the local level would make it almost impossible to control the illegal immigration problem even if the federal government did enact an effective policy, said John Keely, spokesman for the Center for Immigration Studies.

"Communities adversely affected by crime sprees in these 'sanctuary' cities have no right to complain about crime because they choose to ignore federal law," Keely said. "If you set up policies of quasi amnesty, you establish a climate of immunity."

They aren't even enforcing basic laws because everytime anyone tries they are out there with the ACLU or LULAC screaming racism or how they're "targeting" them. There is no control of them in any aspect....forget just illegal immigration. They know it too.

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