Cities that place protection of residents over prosecution make safer communities for everyone. In light of the recent detention and possible deportation of long-time Chicago resident, Rigo Padilla, it’s important to understand why upholding sanctuary policies is important to all residents. Anti-immigrant groups often malign the word “sanctuary” in public discourse on immigration and obscure what the policies actually do and who they benefit. Groups like FAIR whip up fear by criticizing sanctuary policies as contributing to terrorism, saying “The underground society of illegal aliens, with street sales of fake identity documents, creates a nurturing environment for terrorists.”
A recent report by Immigration Policy Center found vastly different results; debunking many claims by anti-immigrant groups.
“Critics claim that these cities and states provide “sanctuary” to criminals, but research shows the opposite is true. Crime experts, including hundreds of local police officers, have found that cities with community policing policies continue to work closely with DHS and have built bridges to immigrant communities that have improved their ability to fight crime and protect the entire community.”
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the nation’s premier law enforcement association, voiced its perspective in a 2004 policy paper, “Enforcing Immigration Law: The Role of State, Tribal and Local Law Enforcement.” According to the IACP, “local police agencies depend on the cooperation of immigrants, legal and illegal, in solving all sorts of crimes and in the maintenance of public order. Without assurances that they will not be subject to an immigration investigation and possible deportation, many immigrants with critical information would not come forward, even when heinous crimes are committed against them or their families.”
It is especially important for women to feel safe enough to come forward with information about a crime, as they are much more likely to be on the receiving end of domestic or employer abuse. There is also a lot of fear for mixed-status families. Many US citizens live with family members who are undocumented and feel it is unsafe to interact with law enforcement. The fear can go even deeper however, as the report recounts situations where law enforcement asked for tips and information from the larger public and whole communities of immigrants were too afraid to come forward. This is why so many local law enforcement agencies have adopted and support sanctuary policies.
Those local agencies that do begin enforcing federal immigration laws, under something called a 287(g) agreement, often end up taking their officers and policing resources away from preventing and solving violent crime. Thus making the community less safe. The IPC report has some astounding figures on the low rates of criminal convictions resulting from local enforcement operations under 287(g).
“Under this program, many undocumented immigrants have been arrested and deported for minor offenses related to their status as undocumented workers, such as driving without a license. In addition, state and local police have participated in DHS “Fugitive Operations Teams” that often go to the homes of non-criminal, undocumented workers with outstanding deportation orders to arrest them. These initiatives were initially billed as discreet in nature and limited to criminal apprehensions, but the reality has been quite different. A February 2009 study by the Migration Policy Institute found that 73% of the individuals apprehended by Fugitive Operations Teams had no criminal convictions; in 2007, fugitives with criminal convictions represented just 9% of total Fugitive Operations Team arrests.”
The evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of providing “sanctuary” for undocumented residents. For the sake of everyone in our communities, we should support a system that allows immigrants to live out of the shadows.