WASHINGTON - The nation's estimated 680,000 local police officers would be granted the power to enforce federal immigration laws, and local departments could effectively sue federal authorities uncooperative in processing illegal immigrants, under the provisions of a bill introduced yesterday in Congress.
"It is just plain common sense to allow these [local] officers to help enforce the law," said Rep. Charlie Norwood, a Republican from Georgia who is sponsoring the bill, which would also provide training and up to $1 billion in federal funding to local departments.
Many police departments, including most in the Baltimore region, will not report illegal immigrants to the federal government unless they have committed a crime. But other local law enforcement agencies, like the Maryland State Police, will report illegal aliens to the federal government no matter how they come into contact with them, because of concerns about homeland security.
Some law enforcement agencies applauded the bill, saying that it would help the federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has nearly 2,000 field officers, enforce immigration laws.
Although the bill would not force any local police to work with the federal government, immigrant advocates and some police departments worry that the bill, officially known as the Clear Law Enforcement for criminal Alien Removal Act of 2003, could still encourage racial profiling and destroy trust between police officers and immigrant communities.
"You can be assured there would be staunch opposition to any bill that would give local police federal powers," said Michele Waslin, a policy analyst with the National Council of La Raza, an immigrants advocacy group in Washington.
Currently, local police departments only partner with BICE, formerly known as the Immigration and Naturalization Service, if they have a written agreement, although Attorney General John Ashcroft said last year that local police could work with federal immigration authorities without an agreement.
Wayne V. Gay, president of the National Sheriffs' Association, wrote a letter in support of the bill because it would give local law enforcement more resources. When local police jail an illegal immigrant, they often receive partial reimbursement of their costs from a federal program. But the program is underfunded, often having only $250 million a year, which leaves "local law enforcement with an incredible financial burden," Gay wrote.
