The debate about the relationship between local police and the people they protect is spelled out by a Colorado ballot question focused on immigration.
Proposed Constitutional Amendment 81 would require local police and sheriff deputies to determine whether certain people charged with crimes are “lawfully present” in the United States and notify federal agents if they suspect they lack legal status.
The requirement would apply to people accused, as well as convicted, of violent crimes or those with previous criminal convictions.
Denver District Attorney John Walsh says embroiling police in immigration politics can erode trust in immigrant communities and make them reluctant to report crimes.
“Unless a person charged with a crime happens to be carrying their passport, or unless local law enforcement can verify their immigration status within 72 hours, Amendment 81 would require us to report that person to ICE,” Walsh told reporters for Colorado Newsline. “It inevitably means that law enforcement will be forced to report to ICE people who ultimately turn out to be American citizens and people who are lawful permanent residents of the United States. It is a recipe for abuse and racial and ethnic profiling.”
While Sentinel Colorado can’t, and isn’t, make a recommendation to readers about whether to approve or reject the ballot question — because the Sentinel is a non-profit, 501(C)(3) — the Sentinel editorials can and have for years cautioned the public about any policy changes that endanger the mission of police by embroiling them in the politics of immigration and mass deportation.
Efforts to link local police to immigration enforcement put police, the community and those they contact all at risk, especially people who are victims or witnesses.
Local police can tell you that undocumented residents fear that contacting local police could expose themselves or their families to immigration enforcement.
Research on police-community relations, the experience of police departments and the observations of officers themselves have long pointed to the importance of trust when investigators need victims and witnesses to come forward. If immigrants, including people who are undocumented, believe that calling local police could trigger an immigration inquiry, some will certainly decide that reporting a robbery, assault, fraud or other crime is too risky.
Those very real consequences don’t stop with undocumented immigrants.
People who are reluctant to contact police can become easier targets for criminals and scammers. Someone who believes a police report could lead to an immigration investigation may be less willing to report wage theft, domestic violence, financial fraud, identity theft or other crimes.
In communities where immigrants and people of color make up a large share of the population, like Aurora, the effects of that distrust can spread well beyond undocumented residents.
Media reports of immigrants with legal credentials being harassed by federal immigration agents and even wrongfully detained or deported has a chilling effect on whether to contact, or even allow contact, with police.
There are other approaches to the employment side of illegal immigration that deserve consideration. One previously proposed plan requires workers, regardless of immigration status, to establish authorization to work before being hired, while placing meaningful penalties on employers who knowingly hire unauthorized workers. Congress also could address the status of undocumented immigrants who meet whatever qualifications lawmakers establish for lawful employment.
Local police depend on victims and witnesses to report crimes. If a substantial portion of a community becomes reluctant to seek police assistance because of immigration concerns, the effects could reach victims, witnesses, officers and everyone who lives or works alongside them.
That is a community-safety issue, not merely an immigration-policy question.
