Sanctuary cities won’t fix problems

The social justice warriors will be out in force at the State House Monday. That’s when the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition hosts a press conference in support of the Safe Communities Act, which goes before the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security that morning.

It’s essentially a “sanctuary cities” bill, and would limit how the state and municipalities interact with federal immigration enforcement. Some key components: Law enforcement and court officers can’t ask people about their immigration status unless required by law, nor can they notify ICE when someone is about to be released from jail or court.

The question is: Safe communities for whom?

Opponents of the bill, also holding a press conference at the State House Monday, include Advocates for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime, and the fact that there is such an organization speaks to the core of the problem.

Proponents of illegal immigration hold that those who are in the U.S. illegally are law-abiding families, victims of violence and poverty who want to build better lives. Many, if not most, are. And legal avenues of immigration would help them attain a foothold in this country to better realize their dreams.

But some who come here illegally are the sorts who do other illegal things — theft, acts of violence, etc. It’s why they may find themselves in front of a judge or court officer. And this bill basically says: let’s keep them here.

Take the case of Ghanian national Frederick Amfo, charged last year with raping a woman in his Uber car. He posted $10,000 bail, was released from custody, and fled to Ghana.

As the Boston Herald reported “Following his arrest on rape charges, ICE issued an immigration detainer to the Weymouth Police Department for Frederick Amfo. … That detainer should have followed the alien as he transferred from the Quincy Court House. The court chose not to forward the detainer to Norfolk County, allowing for his subsequent release on bail from custody,” ICE spokesman John Mohan said in a statement.

“This case highlights the potential dangers of policies that prohibit cooperation with ICE,” he added.

Those who favor the Safe Communities Act and similar legislation assert that people shouldn’t have to live in fear of going to the police should they need help.

But taking the police and courts out of the immigration enforcement process hardly eliminates worry from the lives of the undocumented.

They are still free to be an exploitable work force, unprotected by U.S. labor laws. And while a Safe Communities Act would keep a police officer from inquiring after their immigration status, it won’t keep an employer from paying low wages under the table, and providing unsafe and unsanitary working conditions. The undocumented workers can’t complain, of course, lest a call to ICE be made. The same goes for substandard housing in illegal rentals where occupancy limits are stretched and building codes are in constant violation.

Making it easier for illegal immigrants — law-abiding and otherwise — to remain undetected does no one any favors. Working toward legal immigration reform will.

 

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2L5psCs