•  new york
• Saturday, October 30, 2010
• Inter Press Service

As two Democratic senators introduced yet another version of immigration reform legislation - and two Republican senators immediately condemned it - more than 500 not-for-profit organisations called on President Barack Obama to end what they called 'the merger of immigration enforcement with criminal justice.'

Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and committee member Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey last week filed the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010. Republican Senators Orrin Hatch of Utah and Jon Kyl of Arizona blasted the legislation as a 'cynical ploy for votes' and called the push for immigration reform 'for effect rather than reality.'

At the same time, 578 groups from across the country delivered a letter to President Obama expressing concerns that the Obama administration's increased reliance on local law enforcement to arrest, detain, and deport immigrants has exacerbated existing problems in the criminal justice system. The letter demanded that the government 'end the merger of immigration enforcement with criminal justice.' It cited systemic problems within both the immigration and criminal justice systems.

The groups represent a wide range of fields, including religion, law, labour, immigration, civil and human rights, education and law enforcement. Their letter declares, 'The merger of immigration enforcement and local criminal justice agencies is not only bad public policy, it also sabotages local law enforcement agencies' core mission of protecting public safety by undermining the trust of the communities they serve. It discourages people from turning to the police when they need to, even to report crimes. It undermines public safety by diverting scarce resources away from local policing and focuses them on false threats from people who look or sound foreign.'

© Inter Press Service (2010) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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