
The following excerpts are from the upcoming book ” The American Citizens Handbook on Immigration” a candid conversation with a concerned citizen”available the end of August.
Sanctuary cities come into play when an undocumented immigrant comes into contact with the police. A very common occurrence of this happens on the road – someone is speeding, has a broken taillight, or has a broken license plate light, and is pulled over. If a person is undocumented, chances are they do not have a valid driver’s license – only twelve states and the District of Columbia allow immigrants to legally drive. Immigrants still have to get to work and school somehow – but being found without a valid driver’s license can get an individual arrested.
Other reasons immigrants (just like native-born Americans) come into contact with the police include an immigrant calling the police to their house (for example in the case of a domestic dispute), a car accident, drug usage, police checkpoints, so forth.
Once an immigrant is arrested, their information gets put into a federal database that is shared with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE can then issue a hold, also called a detainer, asking the police to hold that person in custody until ICE can come pick that person up for immigration detention and eventual deportation.
Here’s where we get to important legal point #1: being undocumented is not a crime. It’s a civil violation. Undocumented immigrants have rights under the U.S. Constitution. And according to due process, the police cannot detain anyone who hasn’t at least been suspected of a crime. If a police officer encounters someone walking down the street who turns out to be undocumented, they cannot arrest that person because that person has not committed a crime (ICE, however, can). Similarly, if the police arrest someone undocumented – for example, someone suspected of committing a crime, who is then cleared, they must let that person go.
No, sanctuary cities do not violate federal law. Federal law requires public entities to share and maintain information that has been gathered on an individual’s citizenship or immigration status. Federal law does not require compliance with federal requests to prolong detention. It does not impose an affirmative duty to gather information about place of birth or immigration status. It does not require localities to give local resources to assist federal immigration agents in carrying out their federal immigration enforcement responsibilities. So long as a local sanctuary policy does not limit communication or maintenance of information on a person’s immigration or citizenship status, it will not run afoul of federal law.
What you see:
In an article from American Voice titled “Immigration 101-What is a Sanctuary City”-April 25, 2019-Updated October 9th, 2018
Sanctuary cities are safer
In a sentence, sanctuary cities make everyone safer. This is because:
The police can focus on going after serious criminals, rather than arresting or detaining immigrants just for being undocumented.
Cities, communities, and law enforcement want undocumented immigrants to trust the police. In order for the police to be most effective at their jobs, they need to be able to work with immigrants who report crimes, give tips, or testify as witnesses. In order for immigrants to trust the police, they need to know that an interaction with law enforcement won’t lead to their deportation.
Research backs this up; one analysis has shown that sanctuary cities see 15% less crime than non-sanctuary cities. Another found that two-thirds of the cities that had the highest jumps in murder rates in 2016 were not sanctuary cities – in fact, they are the opposite, generally eager to hold immigrants for ICE pick-up and detention.
In contrast, scary things can happen when immigrants become afraid of the police. In Houston, the police chief noted that the number of Hispanics reporting rape is down 42.8% from last year, and the number reporting other violent crimes has dropped 13%. This is during a year when crimes reported by non-Hispanics increased. Immigrants in California also aren’t reporting sex crimes, while fears of deportation caused women in Colorado to drop domestic abuse cases in which they were witnesses.
There is a underwhelming amount of data in these areas, especially with regards to the illegal immigrant community in sanctuary cities. As far as the above numbers on crime, I refer back to Chapter #4“ Illegal immigration and Crime.”
If a person or family takes it upon themselves to break our laws upon entering, either by doing so illegally or by an expired visa, they need to understand the risk they are facing.
If I were in their situation, I would probably do the same thing.
I don’t believe we should hunt them down. However if during the course of life events, say a traffic violation, data shows this person has a warrant for missing their immigration court date and they have been designated to be deported, then law enforcement needs to comply and hold that person, until the proper authorities can come.
If it happens this person has been here for 15 years, and has a family. I am sorry, they knew the risk when they crossed the line.
Much the same way, if a person is pulled over for traffic infraction, does not speak English, no drivers license, no insurance, that is probable cause…
I end this section with an article from
“The Hill”- October 22nd, 2019 “–Sanctuary city policies are a threat to decent people
Anarchy is a state of civil ruin created by a refusal to recognize legitimate governance. The breakdown of rule of law is often caused by a rise in crime and a failure to control it.
Based on the increasing regularity of reports on shootings, stabbings, rapes and human trafficking committed by criminal illegal aliens and the refusal of “sanctuary” jurisdictions to restrain it, Americans are justifiably worried about personal and community safety; their comfort resides in the U.S. Constitution.
Article I unequivocally provides the federal government with sole power to “establish Naturalization.” Article 4 further reads, “The United States shall protect [States] against Invasion; and … domestic Violence.”
As sanctuary states and jurisdictions illegitimately usurp lawful power from the federal government, the last thing they are doing is protecting against “domestic Violence.” Instead, they are overtly allowing it and tacitly encouraging it. Responsibility for locating and removing individuals illegally in our country rests with the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE.) Under ICE’s federal 287(g) Program, it has authority to partner with state and local law agencies for assistance with immigration enforcement.
However, power for such enforcement does not lie with states or cities. They cannot opt out of federal immigration laws any more than they can opt out of federal discrimination laws. Yet irresponsible sanctuary rules don’t just prevent federal law enforcement from removing criminals from our midst, they also block local law enforcement officers from their primary duty to keep the public safe.
Sanctuary proponents claim illegal immigrants do not commit most crimes. This is not only a specious argument, but it does it even really matter? How many murder or sexual assault victims are enough to persuade liberal politicians that sanctuary is a bad idea? One, ten, a thousand?
Each crime committed by an illegal alien has the unique characteristic of being fully preventable. As former Attorney General Jeff Sessions noted in 2018; “the illegal immigrant crime rate in this country should be zero.” Sanctuary supporters make deflective arguments. Statistics and heartbreak prove the danger of rogue orders for local law enforcement to ignore lawful ICE directives to remove dangerous illegal immigrants.
A recent report from the Department of Justice found that in 2017, there were 105,200 non-citizens in federal or state prisons, each costing American workers more than $36K per inmate per year, not including thousands being held in on-going court cases. Most state data make it difficult to discern how many prisoners are here illegally vs. legal non-citizens, but the self-evident answer is “a lot.”
Texas keeps accurate records and has reported that between 2010 and 2019, illegal aliens were charged with thousands of property crimes, 586 homicides and 8,972 sexual assaults. These represent more than 500 grieving families and nearly 9,000 traumatized victims in one state alone.
During a forty-five-day period in 2019 in the sanctuary county of Montgomery, Maryland, nine illegal immigrants were charged with multiple sexual assaults. In the case of one alleged violent rape by an illegal immigrant, County Executive Marc Erich instructed jailers to let ICE know if the accused made bond but not delay his release so ICE could detain him.
An illegal alien accused of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl and her younger brother told police the assault was “a cultural joke common in El Salvador.” In that case, Montgomery District Judge Patricia Mitchell issued the accused a $15,000 no-cash-down bond.
An illegal immigrant in Seattle raped a wheelchair bound woman in 2018 and served nine months. Upon his 2019 release, Judge Nicole Gaines Phelps ordered him back to Mexico but refused to report the release to ICE, deliberately preventing his deportation proceeding. This predator returned to the home of the disabled woman, raping and beating her again, in front of her child.
Sanctuary policy is a proven threat to decent people. Despite high media visibility of many criminal illegal alien victims — Kate Steinle, Mollie Tibbetts, Deputy Ryan Thompson — it seems no victim list is long enough to bring sanctuary proponents to their senses.
Even today, the prescience of the Founders is evident. They could not foresee an influx of more than 11 million people illegally breaching our sovereign borders, yet they made provision for this flagrant violation in the documents that guide and define our union of fifty states and a federal government.
President Trump has acknowledged this crisis and taken corrective action through executive orders and requests to Congress. The White House is calling for “an immigration system that serves the national interest”— and idea that sanctuary jurisdictions reject.
It is time for even the most liberal of citizens residing in sanctuary areas to publicly challenge this deadly doctrine that elevates criminal illegal immigrants over legal residents and could bring anarchy to our doorsteps.
Citizens are paying for this. Use this blog as your contact point and advise your congressperson and senator that they are on notice. Go to the Senate and congressman information at the top of this blog, if you are on a tablet or smartphone click on “Menu”. That will take you to each states congress and senate contact information, including phone numbers, addresses and social media. Contact today and let them know you expect constructive immigration policies.
Thank you for participating in this conversation. God Bless America and Godspeed.