There has been a rapid increase in local law enforcement in immigration over recent years raising a lot of controversies especially on police’s source of power to enforce what has been traditionally the power of federal government (Nguyen &Gill, 2016). The controversies are as a result of how they treat immigrants since they violate their civil liberties and loose trust of immigrants like in Texas where the state government has partnered with the federal government. Police involvement in immigration enforcement is surrounded by legal, logistic, and resource issues. There are also a lot of controversies surrounding the source and scope of the police’s power to enforce federal immigration laws. There have been concerns about the civil liberties that come up as a result of police involvement in the enforcement of immigration. The actions of police in enforcing immigration laws in collaboration with immigration agents have no basis in state or federal law. Some states have a memorandum of understanding with Immigration and Customs Enforcement which provides police with guidelines on their duties and responsibilities regarding immigration enforcement (Jaeger, 2016). However, although some states have not adopted the MOA, police in these states continue to engage in enforcement of immigration laws without any guidelines or any basis on the law.
There are several agencies at the federal government level that monitor and enforce immigration laws. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for enforcing action aimed at preventing unlawful entry into America. They are also involved in the apprehension and repatriation of aliens who violate or fail to comply with American immigration laws (Nguyen & Gill, 2016). Within the DHS, some organs have primary responsibilities of immigration enforcement. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is responsible for immigration enforcement at the ports of entry while Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is engaged in interior enforcement and it carries out detention and removal operations. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) engage in the adjudication of applications and petitions regarding immigration and benefits of naturalization (Baker & Williams, 2017).
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The role of local law enforcement in immigration include interrogation of people to determine whether there are possibilities of immigration arrest, preparation of immigration detainers and affidavits, and then take sworn statements. They are also engaged in the transportation immigrants who are arrested and then notify the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency within twenty-four hours of any arrest under their jurisdiction. They then create a Notice to Appear (NTA) for immigration and then offer assistance during the processing of persons taken to custody by the ICE both in the pre-arrest and post-arrest (Nguyen & Gill, 2016). Many states are strongly opposed to the agreements and Texas has sent letters to the commissioners of the 25 Texas counties urging the commissioners to end the program.
The law enforcement should play a limited role in immigration enforcement because if they are active in the enforcement, it would undermine their relationship with the communities they serve. Texas Rio Grande Valley counties are opposed to collaboration with the federal government in immigration enforcement because when sheriff’s deputies are involved in immigration enforcement, people fear to report crimes for fear of being deported (Nguyen & Gill, 2016). If state and local law enforcement agencies are involved in the enforcement, state and local resources will be used which should not be the case since state and local funds should not be used to fund federal responsibility. Another reason is that allowing states and local authorities to enforce immigration laws would lead to inconsistency in the application of the immigration laws. This will lead to the violation of the civil liberties of immigrants.
References
Baker, B., & Williams, C. (2017). Immigration enforcement actions: 2016. Internet de Homeland Security Department .
Jaeger, J. (2016). Securing communities or profits? The effect of federal-local partnerships on immigration enforcement. State Politics & Policy Quarterly , 16 (3), 362-386.
Nguyen, M. T., & Gill, H. (2016). Interior immigration enforcement: The impacts of expanding local law enforcement authority. Urban Studies , 53 (2), 302-323.
