Dec. 9, 2005 – The nation?s central immigration-status database frequently gives police officers wrong information, unfairly complicating matters for two out of five accused suspects and taxing local law enforcement resources, according to a study released yesterday.
Released by the Migration Policy Institute, a liberal, nonprofit think tank, the study found that officers received "false positives" 42 percent of the time when checking a person?s legal status against the Federal Bureau of Investigation?s National Crime Information Center. The study was based on Department of Homeland Security statistics gathered between 2002 and 2004.
"The data suggest that asking police untrained in immigration law to detain people based on bad records is of dubious law enforcement value," report co-author Michael Wishnie said in a statement accompanying the study.
Since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, local law enforcement agencies have been asked to assist federal immigration and security officials in detaining undocumented immigrants. As part of those efforts, local agencies have been entering information into the database, possibly contributing to the misinformation contained therein, the report said.
Earlier this year, a federal court ordered the Department of Justice to release information related to the 2002 policy change that specifically asked local police to make immigration arrests. The policy, instituted by former Attorney General John Ashcroft, reversed long-standing policy and remains heavily opposed by a number of civil rights, humanitarian and immigrant rights organizations, as well as some local police departments.
Last month, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) released sample legislation intended for adoption by cities that would protect immigrants from local law enforcement under the new Justice Department policy. Topping the NILC?s recommendations is a suggestion that municipalities enact an ordinance specifically stating that no city or public safety service be denied on the basis of citizenship.
In addition, the sample legislation would prevent local law enforcement agencies from enforcing civil immigration violations utilizing local money. The NICL also noted that local governments may opt to adopt language preventing local police from enforcing any or all immigration violations, including criminal ones.
A major argument for enacting such policies is that immigrant fear of local police can prevent crime victims or witnesses from seeking help or coming forward for fear of detention or deportation.
Cautioning that the NCIC records "are not effective for widespread use," the MPI study recommended a reevaluation of enlisting local law enforcement agencies in non-criminal immigration issues.
