Local Police and Immigration Enforcement

The Police Foundation has launched a national effort to bring together law enforcement leaders, public officials, scholars, and community stakeholders to collaboratively examine the implications of local law enforcement of immigration laws. The project’s culminated in a national conference (The Role of Local Police:  Striking a Balnce Between Immigration enforcement and Civil Liberties) in Washington, D.C., on August 21-22, 2008, at which 200 law enforcement leaders, policy makers, scholars, and community leaders participated in discussions.

A story in the Washington Post reports on the conference and on the issues generally.  Officials in many parts of the country remain reluctant to cooperate in immigration enforcement, saying they fear losing the trust of immigrant communities and worry about being accused of racial profiling. Despite a nationwide clamor against illegal immigration, only 55 of more than 18,000 police and law enforcement agencies across the country have signed agreements to coordinate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Police Foundation is producing a final report of the project.  We will post a link when it is posted.

KJ