Burke: Sanctuary cities undermine immigration laws
By Alana Burke, Columnist (Contact)
Sunday, April 6, 2008

Cities with sanctuary policies ignore federal immigration laws and provide a safe haven for illegal aliens, allowing them to take advantage of local services and report crimes without fear of deportation. These sanctuary policies prohibit the police from reporting an illegal alien to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unless the illegal has committed a crime.

However, isn't entering the country illegally a crime in and of itself? These hypocritical policies, wherein one crime, that of illegal entry into the country, is ignored so that other crimes might be reported, undermine the legitimacy of United States law.

If Anderson were a sanctuary city, Jose Salvador Alcantar-Ruiz, the illegal alien who ran over a 3-year-old in March, would not have suffered any consequences other than his own grief and guilt. While Alcantar-Ruiz's illegal status didn't directly cause the accident, it certainly adds insult to injury. His time in jail, however, will only add to California's already huge cost of incarcerating illegal aliens -- $1.4 billion a year, according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR.

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 requires local governments to cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security and report illegal aliens. However, over 29 sanctuaries in California alone have policies that prevent local agencies from reporting them, which simply provides further incentive to sneak across the border.

Proponents of these policies claim to be protecting immigrant rights, and it is true that illegal aliens have been the victim of crimes, in fact may have been targeted specifically because they had something to hide and, therefore, were less likely to report the incident. However, while legal immigrants have the right to local services and protection, illegal aliens don't and should be immediately deported. It's time to stop babysitting criminals and send them packing.

The touchy-feely humanitarian perspective on this issue is nice and comfy but also weak and dangerous. The harsh reality of what the illegal alien invasion is doing to this country is much uglier. From a financial perspective, the invasion is strangling our economy. FAIR estimates that California's illegal alien population costs the state's taxpayers "more than $10.5 billion per year for education, medical care and incarceration."

The tired argument that the tax contributions of illegal workers subsidize this expenditure is flawed. Despite the tax income, the outlay is still over $9 billion per year, FAIR calculates. That is approximately $1,183 per legal household per year, which isn't chump change. The flimsy "American's won't do these jobs!" excuse is, as the younger generation puts it, really lame, because the reality is many of our welfare recipients could do these jobs and, as an added bonus, their money would go back into the economy instead of out of the country.

There is legislation pending that would penalize sanctuary cities. For example, in Maryland, a bill would require local governments to comply fully with federal immigration law or lose state financial aid. Opponents of the bill claim that it is not the responsibility of the local police to enforce complex federal immigration law, and there are not enough local resources to do so. So apparently, the rights and needs of illegal aliens supersede those of legal Maryland residents and their local governments are incapable of upholding complex laws.

If it is not the responsibility of the local authorities to enforce immigration law, than whose is it? When did it become an option to pick and choose which crimes are more convenient to prosecute or which laws should be upheld? Either it is illegal to violate immigration laws, or it isn't. Sanctuary cities make a mockery of the justice system and serve only to weaken the rights of legal citizens.

In California, a bill (AB 2601) has been introduced that would deny sanctuary cities proceeds from vehicle license fees collected by the DMV. This might discourage cities from adopting sanctuary policies, but it will also punish legal residents who did not set the city's sanctuary status.

The hypocritical policies of sanctuary cities serve a political purpose. Politicians want to appease illegal immigration lobby groups and garner financial contributions and votes despite statistics that indicate that illegal aliens contribute to crowding in schools, lower wages and are responsible for a high percentage of crime. Those "humanitarians" who believe that illegal aliens should have full access to American resources while breaking the law are humanitarian only in name. Their support for illegal aliens serves only to further burden the American taxpayers and the economy at a time when our nation is struggling and resources are minimal.

Record Searchlight contributing columnist Alana Marie Burke can be reached at alanamarieburke@gmail.com
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