| The
Chilling Effect of 287(g) |
| The true consequences of the Herndon Town Council's drive
to empower its police force to enforce federal immigration
law are beginning to show, and there is much to be concerned
about. |
| The town in January received approval from federal authorities
to participate in the 287(g) program, in which police officers
are trained by officials from the Bureau of Immigration and
Customs Enforcement and then authorized to enforce federal
immigration law. |
| The agreement outlining exactly what federal powers Herndon
officers would assume has been negotiated, and the Town Council
approved the "memorandum of understanding" Tuesday night to
officially begin the participation in the program. |
| The authorization is for seven Herndon Police Department
officers to undergo the federal government's five-week course
and to become certified to enforce immigration law. Upon the
completion of the training and their certification, the officers
will be authorized to enforce federal immigration law while
supervised by an ICE official. |
| The town attorney has said the agreement would limit immigration
enforcement to individuals who are already under arrest or
suspicion of a series of "group A" felony offenses, including
sexual assault and other violent crimes, or driving under
the influence of drugs or alcohol. But the wording of the
document is not clear, and it leaves open the possibility
for abuse. |
| The agreement states, for example, that officers would be
authorized to "interrogate any person believed to be an alien
as to his right to be or remain in the United States." |
| Officers will be trained to follow the federal government's
standards on avoiding racial profiling, but the authorization
allows the Herndon Police Department to arrest anyone without
a warrant "if the officer has reason to believe the alien
to be arrested is in the United States in violation of law
and is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained." |
| What does this mean for public safety in Herndon? It will
have a chilling effect on the police department's ability
to connect with the town's residents and solve crimes in the
community. |
| The Herndon Police Department has worked for a decade to
expand its community policing program. It has developed strong,
deep ties with the residents of the town. When a crime occurred
anywhere in town, officers up to now have been able to go
right to people they knew in the neighborhood for valuable
information about what happened, and who was responsible. |
| With Herndon Police officers now authorized to investigate
about a person's residency status, and many immigrants' fears
of trusting police officers because of experiences in their
home countries, that contact will turn cold. |
| No immigrant, legal or otherwise, would voluntarily initiate
contact with a Herndon Police officer for fear that he would
be under suspicion of being an illegal immigrant. Whether
that person is an illegal immigrant would be beside the point.
|
| And this will make it likely that legal and illegal immigrants,
who are all residents of our community, will avoid all the
places they may come into contact with police, like schools,
hospitals, government offices, social service agencies, and
the day labor site. |
| I suspect that this change will happen gradually, and that
one day we will all wake up to find that while we know there
are many immigrants living in our town, we don't see them.
We won't see them at the store, or walking down the street.
We won't have them participate on election day, or taking
their children to the library for story hour. |
| Another consequence of the Town Council's action is one
that we all knew was on the horizon. This week the Town Council
will consider spending more tax money to hire three police
officers to support the 287(g) program. |
| Throughout the public debate of whether the town should
participate in the 287(g) program, supporters have always
claimed as a benefit that it wouldn't cost the town any money
because it involves the training and service of existing officers.
|
| But we all knew that wasn't true. Officers with the new
training will have extra duties. They have more paperwork,
more responsibility, and less time to spend in support of
the traditional duties of a Herndon Police officer. |
| The Herndon Police Department, after all, is no longer going
to be protecting the public from crime and ensuring the safety
of the town residents all the time. Instead, it will be spending
some of its time, and a considerable portion of its resources,
enforcing the laws of the federal government. |
