According to an article on latimes.com: “A coalition of advocacy groups sent a letter to President Obama last week demanding that the administration end a program that allows local police to enforce federal immigration law.”
Ending the 287(g) program would be a wise move for several reasons.: (1) it encourages racial profiling and leaves room for abuse; (2) immigration law is federal and should be enforced by the federal authorities – we would not want the local police enforcing federal tax laws, immigration is no different; and (3) the concept of “community policing” that has proven effective over decades becomes more challenging as immigrants will be less likely to assist authorities in prosecuting and/or reporting serious crimes for fear of immigration consequences – in other words, a shift from working together to fight crime to an “us versus them” perspective becomes inevitable.
Please visit our website at www.immigrantconnect.com.
