Thread: Sanctuary Policies Mean Justice Is Political

http://www.americandaily.com/article/7870

Sanctuary Policies Mean Justice Is Political
By Robert Klein Engler (05/27/05)

In light of recent events, especially the alleged murder of a police officer in Denver by an illegal immigrant, the sanctuary city policy is being debated again. This policy which prevents local police from asking about a person's immigration status is in place in many cities. Houston, Seattle, San Francisco, Portland, Long Beach, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Chicago are all sanctuary cities.

In Chicago there are layers of law enforcement that compound the implementation of any coherent immigration policy. Although the state of Illinois and the county of Cook have jurisdiction in Chicago, they usually stay out of one another's way. The Illinois state troopers I talked to take the public position that illegal immigration is a federal problem and the federal government should enforce immigration laws. They have nothing to say about Chicago's sanctuary policy.

This attitude prevails in many cities, even though Jerry Seper writing in "The Washington Times," claims that "assistant Secretary Michael J. Garcia, who heads ICE, the investigative arm of Homeland Security, has promised a vigorous enforcement effort for criminal aliens now in the country, including a $10 million effort to fund eight new teams of agents to apprehend and deport aliens convicted of crimes in the United States." Many in the Illinois law enforcement community seem to know little about this $10 million and the promise of "vigorous enforcement."

Selective Law Enforcement

The argument politicians make for the sanctuary city policy is rather simple: If you don't enforce some laws then you will be better able to enforce other laws. In short, this is selective law enforcement that often compromises the integrity of police officers.

Put another way, those who support sanctuary policies are usually politicians who use the police for their political ends. These politicians claim that public health concerns or efficient law enforcement requires good community relations with immigrant communities. A sanctuary policy supposedly furthers these good community relations.

Those who support sanctuary policies claim that if a woman who is in the U. S. illegally has been raped, she is more likely to go to the police about her attacker if she does not have to worry about being deported. Furthermore, other members of her community will be more inclined to testify to the police if they did not have to worry about their immigrations status.

Of course, these politicians never question the criminal status of illegal immigrants in the first place. They get around that thorny point by referring to immigration criminals as "undocumented workers." Nor do these politicians consider how much better law enforcement would be if we did not have a community of immigration criminals in the first place.

Sanctuary policies put the police in an awkward position. They must overlook one crime in order to prosecute another. Sanctuary policies are in short a type of selective law enforcement that makes the life of a police officer difficult. Should the Chicago police, for example, not enforce the federal laws against counterfeiting?

In Chicago the sanctuary city policy originates from an executive order by mayor Richard M. Daley. This executive orders stands today, even though section 642(a) of the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act says the following: "Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal, State or local law, a Federal, State or local government entity or official may not prohibit or in any way restrict any government entity or official from sending to or receiving from the Immigration and Naturalization Service information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual."

According to congressman Tom Tancredo from Colorado, executive orders like the one issued by Chicago's mayor Daley are illegal. Tancredo says, "In 1996, Congress passed a law to prevent cities from passing such ordinances or policies. It doesn't seem to matter. Sanctuary cities have a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy when it comes to illegals. Police are barred from even asking suspects about their immigration status, and from reporting them to immigration authorities."

To Serve and Protect

Most people realize that police officers need some discretion when it comes to law enforcement. However, what many police officers do not like is to be directed to not enforce certain laws. Furthermore, there is no evidence yet that crime is diminished or criminals prosecuted more effectively by having a sanctuary policy in place. Even if you wanted to know how effective a sanctuary policy may be or how many crimes are committed by illegal immigrants in Chicago, you cannot get that data. When you ask for it, you are told either that it is not available or that because of a sanctuary policy, such data are not kept.

Some politicians claim sanctuary policies make police work easier. In fact, they do just the opposite. Many police officers will tell you that given a chance. Sanctuary policies actually attract more criminals and make more crime. Violent gangs like MS 13 benefit by sanctuary policies. Sanctuary policies may make it easier for self-serving politicians to get votes, but they hardly help the police catch criminals.

According to Peggy O'Hare of the "Houston Chronicle," more than a few police officers do not agree with the sanctuary policy. Houston police officer John Nickell is one of them. While he testified before a House Judiciary subcommittee Nickell said, "When we shackle law enforcement officers in such a mannerâ€â€

Those who support sanctuary policies claim that if a woman who is in the U. S. illegally has been raped, she is more likely to go to the police about her attacker if she does not have to worry about being deported. Furthermore, other members of her community will be more inclined to testify to the police if they did not have to worry about their immigrations status.

It is a tragedy when anyone is a victim of a crime, but when one puts oneself in the position of being a criminal (illegal) it is not the responsibility of law enforcement to ignore your criminality in order to investigate another crime. This has been political correctness and mush minded left wing logic at work to the detrement of genuine Americans.