Discussion of Whether Local and State Governments Should Protect Undocumented Immigrants from Deportation

“Everywhere immigrants have enriched and strengthened the fabric of American life”(Kennedy). In what ways and how did immigrants make American life better? Exactly whose life becomes significantly better due to the arrival of immigrants?

Opponents say sanctuary cities prioritize illegal immigrants over public safety. It is the responsibility of local governments through local police authorities to help immigration agents deport potentially dangerous criminals. The US government—not the states—has the power to craft immigration policy, and it should defund cities that attempt to obstruct immigration law enforcement.

On the other hand, many say local governments have a responsibility to protect immigrants by establishing cities as sanctuaries. Requiring local law enforcement to serve as immigration agents erodes trust between the police and immigrant communities. The US government cannot commandeer local resources to further its extreme anti-immigrant agenda.

Everyone can agree that the United States has generally welcomed immigrants seeking asylum or simply moving here for a better life. But the same welcoming history is stained with periodic hostility. An overview of US history shows lapses in kindness toward “strangers.” The early immigrants to colonial America, from northwestern Europe, came in search of economic freedom and political freedom. Similarly immigrants today also come for economic freedom and political freedom. As the debate over unauthorized immigration continues to rage, it is important to keep in mind that everyone in the United States ultimately descended from an “immigrant,” even Native Americans whose ancestors arrived here thousands of years ago, but that the rules governing immigration change constantly and often arbitrarily.

The first permanent European settlement in the future United States was established by Spain in 1565 in what is now Florida, followed in 1598 by Spanish settlements in territory that eventually became parts of Texas and New Mexico. Colonists from England established their first permanent settlement in 1607 in Jamestown (Virginia), which also was the destination of the first African slaves brought to the United States in 1619. The Puritan-founded colony of Plymouth (Massachusetts) was created in 1620. During the colonial era, there was never a centralized regulation of immigration.

The hostility towards immigrants begins when the first federal act excludes particular classes of immigrants as “undesirable,” including immigrants from a particular country, was passed in 1875. And in 1864 there was the first federal attempt to centralize immigration in 1864. Over the decades, more and more acts were passed controlling immigration. For Example, the Chinese Exclusion Act which prohibited all immigration of Chinese laborers. Then there was The Quota Law of 1921 which was the first immigration law to impose numerical limits on immigration, capping overall immigration to about 350,000 per year and restricting immigration from any particular country to 3 percent of the number of people of that ancestry who were living in the United States in 1910.

The biggest change in US immigration attitudes came about in 2001 after multiple terrorist attacks devastated New York City and even the Pentagon. It created new government bodies and tightening restrictions on who is and isn’t allowed in. Arguably, the most substantial difference is that the Department of Homeland Security didn’t exist before Sep 11. It was formed in November 2002 with the passing of the Homeland Security Act, the employer replaced the Immigration and Naturalization Service and became responsible for imposing national protection and protective the U.S. From terrorism.

The 3 major bodies created in the DHS encompass Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The most important obligations they fulfill within the post-September 11 era encompass screening and collecting records on worldwide travelers, extra screenings and interviews of humans of positive nationalities, and sharing facts with other countries. The U.S. started out setting aside huge investment for immigration enforcing, the introduction of DHS, developing new and strong databases which had been nonexistent. There is an entry-go out system, wherein they fingerprint all people who enter and they track people in many airports once they go away country. They also track each foreign student.”

“Today, if a nearby cop tracks you down for making an incorrect left flip in your town, he’s going to understand your whole immigration history within seconds. These strategies had been prolonged to the nearly 2,000-mile border among the U.S. And Mexico. “A mix of billions of dollars in new manpower, infrastructure, gadget, and new or amended policies” went closer to defensive the southern border, the record said, and the range of undocumented immigrants located to be crossing it declined.

Opponents of sanctuary cities argue that they subvert the U.S. legal system and threaten public safety. 'Sanctuary jurisdictions across the United States willfully violate Federal law in an attempt to shield aliens from removal from the United States,' President Donald Trump wrote in his executive order on sanctuary cities in January 2017. 'These jurisdictions have caused immeasurable harm to the American people and to the very fabric of our Republic.' Sanctuary advocates claim that they are just protecting hard-working undocumented immigrants. They are breaking the law by simply being in the United States. Some have even committed serious crimes.

Liberals are protecting deadly illegal alien criminals from federal lawmen. Sanctuary cities have threatened public safety by allowing illegal immigrants to stay. So many alien criminals have been released from jail instead of being handed over to ICE. They will just keep breaking the law over and over again. Sanctuary Cities are putting lots of law-abiding citizens in danger. The U.S. government is by no means forcing police officers to act as ICE agents, detractors of sanctuary cities maintain but is simply aiming to coordinate efforts at the national and local levels.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that immigration law should be uniform across the country, opponents note, and the presence of sanctuary cities and states jeopardizes this uniformity. Law Enforcement in sanctuary cities refuse to cooperate with ICE to keep illegal alien criminals off the streets. Elizabeth Alvarado and Rob Mickens lost their daughter Nisa Mickens, who was killed by members of the Salvadoran street gang MS-13 in Brentwood, NY. This shouldn't happen to law-abiding citizens and it is all because local police don’t do anything about illegal aliens. Sanctuary policies do nothing to build trust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement. They do not improve access to law enforcement services for immigrants; nor have they been shown to increase the likelihood that more immigrant crime victims will report crimes.

On the contrary, they destroy the trust of the community at large that the laws will be faithfully enforced to preserve the quality of life for all. Despite widespread public outrage at the San Francisco Sheriff’s policies that caused the release of a man with five prior deportations and seven felony convictions, and who was the subject of an ICE detainer, who then went on to kill Kathryn Steinle, it is clear that some jurisdictions will not budge from their criminal alien sanctuary policies. That was not the first time something like that happened. In 2014, a man was released by the Cook County Sheriff after serving a 60-day sentence for a domestic assault conviction, despite an ICE detainer.

Soon afterward, in Romeoville, Illinois, he killed a 15-year old girl named Brianna Valle, and also shot her mother. In 2011, in Albion New York, a man was released after bonding out on burglary charges, despite an ICE detainer. He later stabbed and killed 45-year old Kathleen Byham outside a Walmart store. This happens because of sanctuary cities releasing illegal aliens instead of handing them over to ICE to get deported. Local police refusing to comply with police has become a big problem.

Sanctuary Cities should protect undocumented immigrants from deportation. 'Sanctuary cities are good for everyone, documented and undocumented. A community that promises to protect all of its members thrives…

Undocumented people are just like everyone else: We want to work hard, support our families and pursue life, liberty, and happiness. When we are witnesses to actual crimes, such as domestic abuse or robbery, we want to be able to report it without fearing deportation. Undocumented immigrants are very often victims of crime and extreme exploitation too especially when perpetrators know they can't ask for help.

Without the assurance of sanctuary city policies, undocumented people will be less likely to report a crime, which makes our cities less safe for everyone… When cities, counties and even states put sanctuary statutes in place, they're taking the pressure off local law enforcement to aid in the inhumane practice of rounding up people. As a result, communities have officers with smaller burdens and community members who are more engaged. Sanctuary cities mean stronger communities”. Statistics show on average “35.5 fewer crimes committed per 10,000 in sanctuary counties compared to non-sanctuary counties”.

Not all immigrants are criminals, most of them are in the US for a better life and a better education. Many believe they are just criminals and nothing else but they are people too. People that want to succeed in life and want their children to succeed in life as well. News Outlets and researchers discerned throughout the presidential campaign that immigrants who are within the country illicitly are less seemingly to commit crimes or be incarcerated than the final population. The American Immigration Council noted in a very 2015 study that the recent amount of rising immigration to the U.S from 1990 to 2013 conjointly corresponded with plummeting crime rates across the country.

On average, counties that did not comply with ICE requests experienced 35.5 fewer crimes per 10,000 people than those that did. Wong also found that counties that did not comply with detainer requests had higher household incomes, lower rates of unemployment, lower rates of poverty, and were less likely to have children under 18 in households receiving public benefits.

In conclusion, Some people say sanctuary cities prioritize illegal immigrants over public safety. It is the responsibility of local governments through local police authorities to help immigration agents deport potentially dangerous criminals. The US government — not the states — has the power to craft immigration policy, and it should defund cities that attempt to obstruct immigration law enforcement.

On the other hand, many say local governments have a responsibility to protect immigrants by establishing cities as sanctuaries. Requiring local law enforcement to serve as immigration agents erodes trust between the police and immigrant communities. The US government cannot commandeer local resources to further its extreme anti-immigrant agenda.

Local governments should protect immigrants by establishing cities as sanctuaries. Immigrants are really hard-working people. The only reason they come to this country is to give their children a better education and a better life.

“Nearly all Americans have ancestors who braved the oceans-liberty-loving risk takers in search of an ideal-the largest voluntary migrations in recorded history… Immigration is not just a link to America’s past; it's also a bridge to America’s future.”