Thread: UT-New immigration law sets dangerous precedent

New immigration law sets dangerous precedent
By Chris Burbank

Updated: 07/02/2009 06:47:22 PM MDT

Chris Burbank is Salt Lake City's police chief.

Salt Lake City police chief Chris Burbank announces the discovery of the body of Salt Lake City resident Deborah Marie Jones, 50, who was found in her car in Branson, Missouri on Monday night. Jones who had complained that her ex-boyfriend was harassing her, went missing last Thursday, one day after speaking to police on the matter. Photo by Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune 4/22/2008 (Francisco Kjolseth)As you begin the experience of the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., one of the first images you encounter is a photo of a Nazi soldier standing with a German police officer. Conspicuously, the identical theme exists at Yad VaShem, Israel's memorial to Holocaust victims.

The Nazi propaganda and hatred effort did not begin with imprisonment and genocide. It was instituted subtly, declaring the criminality of those deemed inferior. Laws were developed and regulations restricting movement, mandating identification and limiting human rights were also passed. Co-opting the trusted local constabulary was instrumental in enforcement of those laws.

Unfortunately, throughout history local law enforcement has been an extremely effective arm of oppression. How many individuals in the United States were lynched, under the color of authority, for violations of Jim Crow laws?

The essential duty of modern law enforcement is to protect the civil rights of individuals while providing for the safety of all members of the communities we serve, equally, without bias. Asking local police agencies to enforce federal immigration laws, as Utah's new law does, is contrary to our mission, marginalizes significant segments of the population, and complicates and ultimately harms effective community policing. We function best when we are part of, not apart from, the community.

Police officers should not engage in civil immigration enforcement. However,

local law enforcement should diligently continue to arrest serious criminal offenders and, as appropriate, refer dangerous criminals to federal authorities. Civil immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, and it is paramount to the well-being of our neighborhoods that the federal government maintains accountability.

This is the central finding of a report from the Police Foundation, a research organization in Washington, D.C. focusing on law enforcement issues. Noting that police agencies throughout the country were increasingly being asked to assume immigration enforcement responsibilities, the foundation conducted a yearlong study to determine the appropriate balance between immigration enforcement, civil liberties and community safety.

I had the honor of participating in the national conference with more than 100 law enforcement peers and executives. While the debate was enthusiastic, several recurring themes emerged. The costs of participating in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's 287(g) program outweigh the benefits. Additionally, local police officers should be prohibited from arresting and detaining persons to investigate immigration status absent probable cause of an independent state criminal law violation.

After speaking with law enforcement officers and community leaders throughout the country, the Police Foundation concluded that local immigration enforcement damages the relationship between local police and communities; in fact, individuals are less likely to report crimes or participate as witnesses due to fear of immigration enforcement.

It is pointedly ironic that the state of Utah, founded by Mormon pioneers who immigrated to the region seeking religious freedom and escape from local governmental persecution, has chosen to assume a negative and biased position toward immigrants and all individuals different from the majority.

We have already observed a chilling effect upon victims and witnesses as well as a polarization within neighborhoods regarding immigration legislation (Senate Bill 81) that went into effect on Wednesday. Often unrecognized in the debate is the significant adverse impact upon all individuals of color. How is a police officer to determine status without detaining and questioning anyone who speaks, looks or acts as if they might be from another nation?

For many years, Washington has failed to repair a broken immigration system, and local police officers have been irresponsibly designated to pick up the slack. By increasing our role in civil immigration action, state and local officers are placed in the untenable position of potentially engaging in unconstitutional racial profiling while attempting to maintain trust within the communities we protect.

Today, as we celebrate the birth of our nation, it is important to note that the foundation of our Republic is not based on the rule of the majority. Democracy and those elected to serve must guard against the tyranny of the majority or of mob rule and ensure the well-being of the downtrodden or underrepresented.

Requiring police agencies to engage in civil immigration activities diverts critical resources away from our central responsibilities during a time of budget cuts and staffing shortages. The Salt Lake County Jail releases, on average, 900 criminal violators monthly due to overcrowding. Funding issues prohibit utilization of existing bed space and the facility cannot meet current demand. Detainees held for reasons of civil immigration status alone will necessitate the release of an even larger number of criminals into our neighborhoods.

Immigration issues instigate some of the most heated debate in the United States today. Unfortunately, this deliberation has yet to include the voice of law enforcement, whose job and mission are drastically impacted by immigration policy. As the Police Foundation report recommends, the federal government needs to pass comprehensive immigration reforms to truly fix the problem and relieve the burden on state and local police. They also need to involve the perspective of police in this upcoming debate.

Memorials and museums are erected in remembrance of those who died, but additionally, and most importantly, to ensure that we do not repeat the mistakes or misdoings of the past.





http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_12744142

Chris Burbank must be an open borders fanatic.

Burbank needs a history lesson:

Nazis and the SS killed/executed/disappeared 6 million people.

Mr. Burbank, show me ONE illegal alien who has been killed/executed/disappeared by ICE just ONE!!!!!

It wasn't a crime to be a jew, a gay, a Pole, an artist, an intellectual or any other group that the Nazis murdered.

Illegal aliens are criminals. I am not suggesting by any means that they should be killed. They should be held accountable to the jurisdiction of our laws, which would find them guilty of illegal entry and subsequently deported.

His comparison of immigration laws to Nazism is disgusting sensational hyperbole.

Contact SLC Police:

Salt Lake City Police Department
P.O. Box 145497
Salt Lake City, Utah, 84114-5497



For walk-in service:
Public Safety Building
315 East 200 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
(801) 799-3000

Salt Lake City Police Department
Pioneer Precinct
P.O. Box 145497
Salt Lake City, Utah, 84114-5497


For walk-in service:
Pioneer Precinct
1040 West 700 South
Salt Lake City, UT
(801) 799-4600

slcpd@slcgov.com

Police officers should not engage in civil immigration enforcement they should go after serious criminals.

Most career criminals get to be career criminals because along the path of crime they refine their skills. And for each level of criminal action that they took that they didn't get caught they become more arrogant and skilled. And in the case of illegals not only do they not get caught, they get rewarded. And the reward may in fact be Amnesty, ie a "free ride" for them and their entire familes. Absurd.

If anyone is in our country illegallly rest assure, they have stolen documents that allow them jobs, free food, health care and a host of other social services. And the crimes escalate from being in our country illegallly, they may have smuggled drugs and/or people in as well , to stolen documents, tax fraud. perhaps stolen identity, driving without a valid licence, maybe burglury and/or rape, etc.

Look at California as an example, of a population of criminals that have almost completely brought down one of our most productive states. If the criminal illegals had been stopped at the border and punished enough to leave a memorable impact or given no health care, education and/or social services, California might still be a thriving state.

Burbank is a fool.

There needs to be a state immigration police force whose sole responsibility is immigration enforcement so that it does not distract from other duties. They would have the right to call on municipal and county officers when they decide a particular locality needs an action. There is also an operational efficiency in having one entity responsible for the pick up of illegal aliens by bus for transportation to ICE rather than leaving it to the local police or ICE. The reason why ICE does not pick up a minor infractor from local police is that they do not have a car available to do the job.

Instead of an entire police fporce which does not do it's job as Chris Burbank proposes it is better to have one community relations officer whose sole responsibility is defending illegal aliens and seeing if they qualify for an exemption or a witness visa.