U.S. Police Chiefs Call for Passage of Immigration Reform

Police Chiefs from urban departments around the United States are calling for immigration reform legislation that would “integrate immigrants into the legal system, possibly with driver's licenses, and separate the local police from immigration enforcement” according to a New York Times article.

At a Press Conference in Miami on Wednesday, Chief John Timoney of the Miami Police Department said "We're in the business of delivering a police service whether the person has had a car accident, been a victim of a crime, or been a witness to a crime”. And that undocumented immigrants may not call authorities for fear "that they are going to wind up being reported to federal authorities and deported."

Timoney went on to say that "The problem for us is they don't discern between federal authorities and local authorities. As far as they're concerned it's all law enforcement."

Other Chiefs joined with Timoney in saying that “Those who call illegal immigrants "criminals," are misreading the law and hurting their own communities by scaring neighbors who could identify criminals.”

Chief Acevedo of the Austin Police Department in Texas said "When you remove the emotion from the debate, no one can argue that it is in the best interest of public safety to keep these people living in the shadows."

The Chiefs said it would be impossible to deport our nation's 10 million to 15 million undocumented immigrants which is another reason they support a “new policy that improves public safety by bringing illegal immigrants out of the shadows”.

For the full article, link here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/us/02florida.html?ref=global-home

Posted in: Fair and Just Immigration Reform,Legislation,Police Chiefs