San Francisco Chronicle (Op-Ed-California)
By Richard Smith
July 7, 2015
A
beautiful young woman, her father’s arm around her shoulder, was shot
dead near San Francisco’s Ferry Building last week. The rest of us are
left to weep with her grieving
family and carry them in our deepest prayers and thoughts.
Sadly,
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and a chorus of
anti-immigrant organizations with troubling histories of racial bias are
exploiting this tragedy
for political gain. These opportunists now seek to punish entire
communities for the horrendous actions of one person. This will not make
any of us safer.
We can and must do better.
Much
media attention has focused on the issue of Immigration and Customs
Enforcement holds or detainers — requests for local jails to detain
people so ICE can pick them
up for deportation. But there’s a problem: These ICE holds are
unconstitutional.
In
Miranda-Olivares vs. Clackamas County, a federal court in Oregon ruled
in 2014 that ICE holds lack probable cause. They are not warrants.
Judges do not review them.
They violate the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable
search and seizure.
Over
the years, immigration detainers have resulted in the wrongful
detention of not only survivors of domestic violence, who’ve called
police for help and victims and
witnesses to crimes, but even U.S. citizens.
Moreover, community members have been subject to racial profiling.
Hence, the need for a valid warrant signed by a judge before turning someone over for deportation.
San
Francisco is one of hundreds of local governments to end these
detentions, and in so doing, uphold the Constitution and honor the
God-given dignity of immigrants working
hard to support their families.
Mixing
a deportation system that does not respect due process with a criminal
justice system whose inequities are increasingly recognized hurts
efforts in communities
like mine to overcome a significant mistrust of police.
In
this tragic incident, the federal government had the suspect in
custody, but returned him to local custody on old charges that were
later dismissed. Instead of providing
the necessary warrant, ICE officials are blaming San Francisco for
policies that are not only constitutional but also humane.
Some
have argued that anyone with past deportations or drug-related felony
convictions — like this suspect — should be deported. But most
immigrants who return after deportation
do so only to work and be with their families. And people with past
drug-related convictions — immigrants and citizens alike — are our
neighbors and loved ones. They are parents, workers, fellow congregants,
volunteers — and human beings. Many have turned
their lives around and become powerful forces for good. We call this
redemption.
Instead
of exploiting this tragedy, as Trump and ICE officials are now doing,
we should seek real solutions to the gun violence and substance abuse
that affect not just
immigrants but every sector of our society.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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