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Column 071210 Brewer

Monday, July 12, 2010

Illegal Immigration is a Confusing Position for Police

By Jerry Brewer

As the U.S. federal government aggressively wrestles with

Governor Jan Brewer’s decision to implement Arizona’s new
immigration law, there are many state and local law
enforcement officials who are misguided by much of the
political posturing and flexing.

Vagueness and vacillation by some on this controversial but

critical issue is not a panacea for perverting form over
substance. The Justice Department on behalf of the policies
of President Barack Obama states that this law “illegally
intrudes on federal prerogatives,” and further states that
federal law “trumps state statutes.”

On the frontlines of non-federal law enforcement, officers

mandated by state and local government law and policies to
go beyond the generic duties of protecting and serving is a
more complex and arduous mission. That mission includes
the safeguarding of human life and property, as well as
investigating violations of law and other criminal acts.

The proverbial line in the sand on this political issue is nothing

more than an international border. That border is a 2,000 mile
legal but porous avenue of human movement.

The border has been traditionally the primary enforcement

domain of federal law enforcement agencies such as the U.S.
Border Patrol and ICE. They are also responsible for every
other U.S. point of entry including the U.S. coastline and a
Canadian border over 5,000 miles wide. You would be hard
pressed to hear from many federal agents that they can
perform that immense task without local law enforcement’s
help and support. That mutual assistance is a critical and
inherent structure of a democratic and proactive enforcement
model of effective policing. It is simply a team effort.

Canada wrestled with many problems similar to the U.S.

regarding immigration, jobs, and terrorism concerns. Of the
nearly 17 million immigrants who poured into Canada between
1970 and 1993, only 17 percent were classified as coming
from majority-white countries. Among the latter were nonwhite
second-time immigrants.

Proactive law enforcement leaders and administrators

throughout the nation clearly know now that they have many
obligations far beyond the scope that they may have imagined
or perceived only a decade ago. Adequately understanding
the metamorphosis of traditional policing to a model of anti-
terrorism policing initiatives, and the true sophistication of this
new transnational threat is not easy. The reality is they are
tasked today with a more global approach to crime and
interdiction that uniquely challenges skills, resources and
personnel.

More so on the southern borders at this time is the illegal

immigration threat that also manifests itself with the terrorism
threat. Not being soothsayers police must be able to
determine immigration status of suspected human traffickers,
narcotraffickers, assassins/enforcers, weapons smugglers,
and transnational criminal recidivists that routinely return
sometimes just days after being returned to their country.
Police would of course need “reasonable suspicion.” The
majority of these criminals will not necessarily be “obvious” in
their modus operandi.

The recruiting, transportation, and eventual harboring of

“trafficked” persons by force, as well as for prostitution and
forced labor and servitude, must be confronted on the
frontlines. This form of interdiction is almost impossible
without proper documentation and the determination of the
country of origin.

Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the

world, tied with the illegal arms industry as the second largest,
after the drug-trade. There are an "estimated 600,000 to
820,000 men, women, and children trafficked across
international borders each year.” Local police must not bury
their heads in the sand on these real issues, nor expect an
abundance of federal agents to come running.

The claims that the Arizona law would result in police

harassment, the detention of foreign visitors and legal
immigrants, and other perceived acts of abuses of power are
not rational arguments unless the ethics, trust, or criminal
nature of police is indeed suspect. In that case, as in any
other U.S. police interdiction, the act(s) should be reported and
documented, as well as properly investigated.

Too, the claim by some that this form of interdiction would

result in poor community relations, scare victims from reporting
crimes, as well as racial profiling, fall flat. For these issues
have been troubling police administrations nationwide for
decades, especially for those of us that have been police
administrators in high-violent-crime corridors and
predominately minority-based jurisdictions.
This transition would require training and associated
professional development in immigration enforcement and/or
detainment. A necessity that is no different to all law
enforcement personnel that must upgrade skills due to
situations that become operationally required.

Traditional policing in this nation is over, and all crimes and

hazards must be confronted. As well, the federal government
will not want to go this awesome endeavor alone.

——————————
Jerry Brewer is C.E.O. of Criminal Justice International
Associates, a global risk mitigation firm headquartered in
Northern Virginia. His website is located at www.cjiausa.org.
jbrewer@cjiausa.org