http://www.aclu.org/ImmigrantsRights/Im ... 17804&c=22

New Mexico Residents: Urge Governor Richardson to Support “No Fear� for Immigrant Communities

When immigrants are witnesses or victims of crime, they often avoid going to the police out of fear of deportation. Women who are beaten by their partners suffer in silence and many other crimes are not brought to the attention of law enforcement. This culture of fear prevents proper prosecution of criminal cases, undermining the safety of our communities.

Earlier this month, the New Mexico state legislature passed Senate Bill 103, a bill that would require state and local law enforcement agencies to refrain from using their resources to detect or apprehend people whose only offense is that they are suspected of residing in the United States in violation of federal civil immigration laws. SB 103 would allow the police to focus on criminal matters and not become de-facto immigration officials.

SB 103 would not prevent police from investigating immigrants who are suspected of crimes or of contacting the federal immigration service to report criminals who are believed to be undocumented. By relieving immigrants’ fear of police, SB 103 would open up channels of communication that could help police identify terrorist activity if it ever occurs in our state. Dubbed the ‘No Fear’ bill, SB 103 is now awaiting Governor Bill Richardson’s signature.

Fear of deportation prevents many immigrants, legal and illegal, from going to the police when they are victims of crime or when they have witnessed suspicious activity. This bill will improve public safety as well as open channels of communication between the community and the police.

Take Action! Urge Governor Richardson to support community policing in immigrant communities.

Fear of being deported deters immigrants from reporting crime to police, making our communities less safe.This legislation would require state and local law enforcement agencies to refrain from using funds, personnel, and other resources to detect or apprehend people whose only offense is that they are suspected of residing in or having entered the US in violation of federal civil immigration laws. It would lift the fear stopping immigrants from contacting police when they are victims of crime or when they witness crimes.

Immigration laws are too complex for state police to enforce without extensive training.Simply to verify immigration status, officers must be thoroughly familiar with dozens of immigration documents. To properly train local police to identify these documents and screen for fraudulent identification requires significant resources and expertise. This would take resources from their primary role of community law enforcement.

State and local police enforcement of federal immigration laws promotes racial profiling. According to the Federal Hispanic Law Enforcement Officers Association, “because police are ill equipped to determine who has violated a civil immigration law, some will inevitably stop and question people of certain ethnic background, who will speak certain languages, or who have accents when speaking English.�