New York ranks fifth among states with the highest arrest rate of people in violation of immigration law. Should the NYPD ask witnesses, victims or perpetrators of crimes for their immigration status and pass on the information to immigration officials? Should police be more involved in enforcing immigration law? Some contend that if immigrants can be questioned about their immigration status, many will shun the police, fewer crimes will be reported, and immigrants will not seek help.
To discuss these issues, the New York Civil Liberties Union, the City Bar Association Civil Rights and Immigration Law committees, and New York Immigration Coalition organized a public panel. The focus of the panel was the Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act of 2003 (CLEAR Act), which would give the green light to state and city police officers to apprehend immigration violators and pass the information to federal authorities, in essence allowing them to enforce immigration law.
The panelists included: Anthony Miranda, Latino Officers' Association; James Ziglar, former commissioner of INS, 2001-2002; John Feinblatt, criminal justice coordinator, City of New York. Michael Wishnie, of the NYU School of Law, moderated.
Terrorists are to blame
”If not for September 11, this discussion would never take place,” said Ziglar, to start off the meeting. “Since that day, politics and immigration law changed a lot. True, there were already precedents for everything that is going on now. Still, things look different now. Before, federal officials were involved with immigration in so far as naturalization was concerned. Now, there are more and more rules being created, often hurting immigrants and having a negative influence on human relations. Those changes can also sap immigrants’ trust in the government.”
This will not help
”Police officers in several large American cities are critical of the CLEAR Act, claiming it will make their work more difficult and make them lose whatever trust is still left in the community. Many people will be afraid to report common crimes like thefts or to come forth as witnesses to a crime. Many women will be afraid to report rapes out of fear of being deported. Many crimes will go unresolved. We should also remember that many policemen will not really know what is law and what is only a proposal. Some may start asking about the status now, and pass the information on,” said Miranda. He added: “New York is a place with a great concentration of immigrants, both legal and illegal.”
Michael Wishnie observed: “As far as I know, New York has not rejected the proposal yet. This means that filing the names of people who violated immigration law in criminal files is legal. And an immigrant is not a criminal.”
Smuggling is a crime
”Smugglers cross the border illegally and deserve to be punished,” said Ziglar. “They make money on trafficking people and they are criminals. An immigrant who overstayed his visa is not. Being illegal may lead to deportation, but it should not be considered a crime.”
The practice of passing on the data on people who violate immigration law is common, however. Presently, the FBI has a list of 350,000 names with deportation orders. Altogether, there are 400,000 people slated for deportation, among them 80,000 have committed a crime.
Immigrants vs. government
The CLEAR Act, originally proposed by Charles Norwood (R-Georgia), has acquired the support of 115 representatives. It will be referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee for consideration, before it can be passed on the full House for a vote. Should the act come to pass, an immigrant who overstays his or her visa would be considered a criminal.
