It isn’t just the ACLU and immigrant rights advocates that
think local police should not be enforcing federal immigration law under
agreements like 287g or Secure Communities. The Chief of Police of one of the
more notorious police departments in the US agrees with us, too. This
op-ed by LA Police Chief William Bratton articulates precisely why
Immigration and Customs Enforcement should be enforcing federal immigration
law, and local police departments should be protecting the public safety. Chief Bratton oversees one of the largest
police departments in the country in one of the nation’s most diverse cities. I hope that police chiefs in Maine
heed Chief Bratton’s words and initiate policies like Special Order 40 in LA,
which prohibits LAPD officers from initiating contact with someone for the sole
purpose of determining their immigration status. I’ve pasted the op-ed below
for you to read with a few key points highlighted.
***
The LAPD fights crime, not illegal immigration
The outgoing chief of police urges the
department to keep focusing on community outreach.
By William J. Bratton
October 27, 2009
On March 12, Juan Garcia, a 53-year-old
homeless man, was brutally murdered in an alley off 9th and Alvarado streets in
the Westlake District, just west of downtown Los Angeles. At first, the police were
stumped; there were no known witnesses and few clues. Then a 43-year-old
undocumented immigrant who witnessed the crime came forward and told the
homicide detectives from the Rampart station what he saw. Because of his help,
a suspect was identified and arrested a few days later while hiding on skid
row. Because the witness was not afraid
to contact the police, an accused murderer was taken off the streets, and we
are all a little bit safer. Stories like this are repeated daily in Los Angeles.
Keeping
America's
neighborhoods safe requires our police forces to have the trust and help of
everyone in our communities. My nearly 40
years in law enforcement, and my experience as police commissioner in Boston
and New York City and as chief in Los Angeles, have taught me this.
Yet
every day our effectiveness is diminished because immigrants living and working
in our communities are afraid to have any contact with the police. A person
reporting a crime should never fear being deported, but such fears are real and
palpable for many of our immigrant neighbors.
This fear is not unfounded. Earlier
this month, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that 11 more
locations across the United
States have agreed to participate in a
controversial law enforcement program known as 287(g). The program gives local
law enforcement agencies the powers of federal immigration agents by entering
into agreements with Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
or ICE. Although many local agencies have declined to participate in 287(g), 67
state and local law enforcement agencies are working with ICE, acting as
immigration agents.
Some in Los Angeles have asked why the LAPD doesn't
participate. My officers can't prevent or solve crimes if victims or witnesses
are unwilling to talk to us because of the fear of being deported. That basic
fact led to the implementation almost 30 years ago of the LAPD's policy on
immigrants, which has come to be known as Special Order 40. The order prohibits
LAPD officers from initiating contact with someone solely to determine whether
they are in the country legally. The
philosophy that underlies that policy is simple: Criminals are the biggest
benefactors when immigrants fear the police. We can't solve crimes that
aren't reported because the victims are afraid to come forward to the police.
The idea of engaging all members of the
public in reporting crime and identifying criminals not only helps us with
short- and medium-term goals of reducing crime; it helps improve relations with
community members. We all have an interest in helping our young people develop
into healthy, educated and law-abiding adults. Breeding fear and distrust of
authority among some of our children could increase rates of crime, violence
and disorder as those children grow up to become fearful and distrustful
adolescents and adults. That is why the Los Angeles Police Department has not
participated in 287(g) and the federal government is not pressuring the
department to do so.
Americans want a solution to our
immigration dilemma, as do law enforcement officials across this nation. But
the solution isn't turning every local police department into an arm of
Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Police Foundation published a
report in April titled "The Role of Local Police: Striking a Balance
Between Immigration Enforcement and Civil Liberties." The report confirms
that when local police enforce immigration laws, it undermines their core
public safety mission, diverts scarce resources, increases their exposure to
liability and litigation, and exacerbates fear in communities that are already
distrustful of police.
The report concluded that to optimize
public safety, the federal government must enact comprehensive immigration
reform. As police chief of one of the most diverse cities in the United States,
and possibly the world, I agree. As I leave my position as leader of the LAPD,
I will encourage my successor to adopt the same rigid attitude toward keeping
Special Order 40 and keeping the mission of the men and women of the department
focused on community cooperation instead of community alienation.
Working with victims and witnesses of
crimes closes cases faster and protects all of our families by getting
criminals off the street. We must pass immigration reform and bring our
neighbors out of the shadows so they get the police service they need and
deserve. When officers can speak freely with victims and witnesses, it goes a
long way toward making every American neighborhood much safer.
*William J. Bratton is chief of the Los
Angeles Police Department. The Police Foundation's report is available online
at http://www.policefoundation.org/strikingabalance/.