RogerRabbit
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Joined: 05 Sep 2004
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Location: Oregon
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 Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2005 2:38 am Post subject: Immigrant status now a police matter |
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http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=96806
| Quote: | By Liz Mineo / Daily News Staff
Sunday, April 24, 2005
A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling stating police questioning of detainees about their immigration status does not violate Fourth Amendment rights has received mixed reviews.
For critics of illegal immigration, it's a decision that might empower state and local police departments to enforce immigration laws and allow them to question people about whether they're here illegally. But police chiefs across MetroWest and the Milford area said the rule doesn't change anything, and that they would go about their business as usual.
Currently, police officers ask people about their immigration status for identification purposes, and only after they have been arrested for other violations. Police can't stop people on the streets to check their immigration status and can't arrest them for immigration violations. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, is the federal agency charged with enforcing immigration laws.
The March 22 ruling in the case of Muehler v. Mena underscores the conflicting views about how to enforce immigration laws in the nation. On one side, state and local police said they can't start chasing undocumented immigrants because it is not under their jurisdiction. On the other side, opponents of illegal immigration would like to enhance state and local police power so those authorities can enforce immigration laws.
For the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group that favors limits on immigration, this ruling may do exactly that.
"Whatever legal fig leaf many police departments have been using to justify policies of non-cooperation with federal immigration authorities has been stripped away," Dan Stein, president of FAIR, said in a written statement. "There is no legal barrier to local police inquiring about a person's immigration status and acting upon the information they gather."
Milford Police Chief Thomas O'Loughlin, who is also an attorney, begs to differ. The ruling does not give local police federal powers nor is anything new, he said, because police already can ask people questions about their immigration status.
"A person can refuse to answer those questions," said O'Loughlin. "But if the person says, 'By the way, I'm an illegal alien,' my response would be, 'So what?' I have as much authority to enforce federal laws as any other citizen. I don't have the authority to enforce federal laws."
The sentiment is the same across MetroWest. Police officers in Framingham, Marlborough and Waltham ask questions about people's immigration status when it is relevant to the investigation and when the person is involved in a serious crime, they said. Otherwise, they may not ask those questions.
"We're busy enough without checking people's documents," said Framingham Police Deputy Chief Craig Davis. "It's a task we're not prepared to undertake, nor do we want to."
In Waltham, Police Capt. Donald Russo agrees.
"We don't go around asking people about their immigration status," he said. "If the information comes up, we'll pass it on to the Immigration office. They're the proper authorities to handle these matters."
Depending on the cases, information may be referred to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, but if people who are here illegally don't commit crimes, they may never appear on the radar of immigration authorities.
"We investigate crimes they may commit when they're here, living illegally," said Marlborough Police Chief Mark Leonard. "We don't investigate them because they're here illegally. Immigration violations are a federal issue. We enforce the laws of the commonwealth. We have limited authority and limited resources."
But a police chief in New Hampshire thinks differently. New Ipswich, N.H., Police Chief Garret Chamberlain has recently charged Mexican native Jorge Mora Ramirez, 21, of Waltham, with criminal trespass, after stopping him for a routine inquiry and learning he was an illegal immigrant.
In anAssociated Press report, Chamberlain was quoted saying that his department spoke to several immigration officials, none of whom wanted to take custody of the man. Last year, Chamberlain's department also detained nine illegal immigrants, but let them go when immigration officials said they couldn't take them into custody unless they are suspected of a crime.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement focuses on criminal aliens and handles cases on a priority basis, said Mike Gilhooly, a spokesman for the Law Enforcement Support Center, a division of ICE.
"All agencies have priorities," he said. "We go after aggravated felons, sexual offenders, people who pose a national security risk, human traffickers, sexual offenders who prey on children, and previously deported aliens. Illegal aliens are of interest, but we prioritize based on public safety."
Ultimately, if police refer information about people who may not have authorization to be here to immigration officials, it's up to locally based federal immigration officials to decide what to do with them, depending on their resources and priorities, said Gilhooly.
Police can check people's immigration status through the Law Enforcement Support Center, which holds 93 million immigration records on foreign-born people, including those of tourist, student, and work visas; naturalized U.S. citizens; and individuals who have committed crimes, have been deported or violated immigration laws. Last year, Massachusetts police departments placed 10,000 inquiries through the center. So far this year, there have been 3,190 inquiries.
Immigration lawyers and immigrant advocates worry some may see the ruling as a green light to randomly ask people questions about their immigration status.
"That could be a privacy intrusion," said immigration attorney Saher Macarius. "But the ruling doesn't give any power to police. If someone believes it does, it could lead to a horrible mistake and could cost the agency thousands of dollars for unlawful detention."
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