Background of the CLEAR and Homeland Security Enhancement Act

Attorney General Ashcroft has been surreptitiously pushing a scheme to deputize state and local police officers as immigration agents.  In April 2002, the press leaked a draft legal opinion by the Justice Department that purported to find “inherent authority” for state and local police to enforce civil immigration laws – a departure from long-standing precedent that civil immigration law is within the purview of federal immigration officers.  This proposal was met by a firestorm of opposition from state and local law enforcement, who argued that such authority would undermine their ability to gain the trust and confidence of the diverse communities they serve and discourage immigrants from coming forward to report crimes and suspicious activities.  The wave of opposition from police, local governments, civil rights and immigrant rights advocates led the Department to back off of its original proposal.

More recently, Representative Charles Norwood (R-GA) introduced the Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal (CLEAR) Act (H.R. 2671), and Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) introduced the Homeland Security Enhancement Act (S. 1906).  Both bills would require state and local police officers to enforce civil immigration laws – or lose certain federal funds.  These bills would also expand the scope of the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database, which is routinely accessed by police to identify wanted criminals, to include individuals solely based upon their immigration status. 

The CLEAR Act and HSEA pose dangerous consequences for public safety.  They would:

- Improperly shift the burden of federal immigration law enforcement to local police. Law enforcement agencies are already overextended. Local law enforcement authorities already provide sufficient cooperation and assistance to federal authorities on immigration matters in the context of persons in custody for violations of state and local laws. These bills, however, would require police to arrest and detain persons based upon suspected or alleged violations of civil immigration laws, thereby diverting essential state and local resources from enforcing criminal laws.

- Ensure the likelihood of civil rights abuses and wrongful arrests.  The bills ensure rising incidents of racial profiling and civil rights violations by local police officers, who will likely harass and detain individuals who "appear" to be undocumented.

- Discourage immigrants from reporting crime or talking to police.  Immigrant rights advocates recall countless stories involving the tragic impact of these policies on immigrant families and the chilling effect on crime reporting.  Immigrant victims of domestic violence are often trapped in abusive situations for fear of deportation if they come forward.  A Pakistani immigrant from New York was stabbed in the foyer of his building but told paramedics he stabbed himself to avoid making a police report.  In Manhattan, a Latina teenager was raped but made no report to the police because of her undocumented status.

The CLEAR Act has already picked up 120 co-sponsors since it was introduced in 2003. However, those most familiar with community crime prevention, such as the California Police Chiefs Association, California State Sheriffs Association, Los Angeles City Council, and over 50 members of the California Legislature OPPOSE the CLEAR Act.  Click here for more information from the National Immigration Forum’s special section.