For Public Safety, Local Cops Should Not Enforce Immigration Laws

Sean Webby writes for the San Jose Mercury News:

As some states such as Utah look to put cops on the front lines of immigration enforcement, San Jose Police Chief Chris Moore and other prominent law enforcement officials warned Wednesday that using their shrinking pool of officers to target illegal immigrants is inefficient, costly and would make their cities more dangerous, not less.

“I am looking at laying off 300 officers, so now more than ever I need to focus on partnerships with communities,” Moore said during a national teleconference sponsored by the Police Executive Research Forum. “This (the issue of immigration enforcement) has become a wedge in our communities and we need to remove that wedge.”

The teleconference was part of a larger public effort by some high-profile police executives to communicate to political leaders and the public that the increasing calls for more aggressive and local immigration enforcement efforts could adversely affect them.

The officials noted, in particular, immigration crackdowns in Arizona and Utah and other proposals that seek to have local law enforcement enforce immigration laws, primarily a federal function.

Looking to reassure its own large and growing Latino community, San Jose has long broadcast that it does not participate in immigration raids. And officers are ordered not to investigate someone’s immigration status during arrests. Read more…

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