The United States is a nation of immigrants. While immigration laws are necessary, they should be respectful of human rights and never become a tool for hate and discrimination.  The U.S. Constitution and numerous acts of Congress provide the federal government with preeminent authority over immigration. Immigration policy has been the exclusive purview of the federal government because it involves the careful balancing of national law enforcement, foreign relations, economic interests, and humanitarian interests.  State and local governments have historically left it to the federal government to consider the various objectives of our nation’s immigration laws and to enact legislation to promote national goals. 

 

In recent years, the presence of an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, along with the repeated and continuing failure of Congress to enact legislation to fix our country’s outdated and ineffective immigration system, have spurred state and local legislatures to enact their own immigration laws.  Our nation has a right and obligation to safeguard its borders and to enact and enforce its immigration laws.   Some recent immigration measures at the federal and state levels have been aimed at enhancing the ability of state and local law enforcement officials to identify and apprehend undocumented immigrants.  Others have required landlords, employers, health care providers, state and local government employees, and others to take action to report or otherwise penalize undocumented immigrants.

 

In 2006 and 2007, the city of Hazleton, Pennsylvania enacted local ordinances that prohibited hiring and leasing property to undocumented immigrants.  In affirming the ruling of the lower court, which struck down these ordinances as unconstitutional, the federal appeals court wrote: “It is of course not our job to sit in judgment of whether state and local frustration about federal immigration policy is warranted. We are, however, required to intervene when states and localities directly undermine the federal objectives embodied in statutes enacted by Congress.”

 

In 2010, Arizona enacted SB 1070, a set of laws intended to “discourage and deter the unlawful entry and presence of aliens” by making “attrition through enforcement the public policy of all state and local government agencies in Arizona.”  Essentially, the purpose of SB 1070, as stated by the Arizona legislature, is to keep undocumented immigrants from coming to Arizona and to drive out those already in the state. SB 1070 requires police to determine immigration status during any lawful stop where there is “reasonable suspicion” that an individual is unlawfully present, and establishes an array of new state criminal sanctions against unlawfully present aliens.   A federal judge issued a temporary injunction in the case, prohibiting certain provisions from going into effect.  In its injunction, the court concluded that the federal government has broad responsibilities and priorities in terms of immigration enforcement, and SB 1070 would inappropriately interfere with and divert resources from those priorities. 

 

There is widespread concern that rather than making communities more secure, these types of laws will drive a wedge between local law enforcement and the communities they are entrusted to protect.  If there is a perception that calling the police may lead to deportation, police may find undocumented persons and their family members hesitant to seek protection, report crimes committed against them, or to serve as witnesses.  The police’s ability to keep the community safe could be seriously compromised when law enforcement instead needs to build trust and communication with the immigrant community.  As one police chief said, “How do you police a community that will not talk to you?”

 

Immigrant communities and law enforcement have warned that this makes immigrant communities vulnerable to being the targets of hate crimes. Laws that encourage discrimination in employment, housing, and other services could easily lead to more widespread discrimination and profiling, feed xenophobia, and send an undeniable message to immigrant communities that they are not welcome.

 

The Jewish Council for Public Affairs believes that:

 

The Community Relations Field Should:

 

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