NWA editorial: Report crimes

Legal status should not be barrier to calling authorities

People who migrated illegally to the United States, in most cases, traveled here in pursuit of better lives, for themselves and their families.

Who can fault them for that desire?

What’s the point?

People who are in the country illegally should not allow their status to prevent them from reporting crimes.

They knew, or should have known, that their presence in this country wouldn't be easy, nor would there be any guarantee it would be permanent. And knowing that, the possibility of better lives outweighed, but did not erase, the risks.

Now, more than 30 years since the last major reform of immigration laws, the United States government has, by virtue of poor enforcement, insufficient resources, lack of political will and inattention, allowed millions of people without legal status into our country. Advocates for this population understandably want immigration reform that removes the risk this population lives under every day.

Again, who can fault them for wanting that?

But is it the responsibility of government officials in Northwest Arkansas to protect them from the risk?

Washington County Tim Helder says it's not. His agency participates in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement program referred to as 287(g). The Benton County's sheriff's office is also a participant in the program, which trains and empowers jailers to check the immigration status of those booked into county jails and to notify the federal agency if the system indicates the person is in the country illegally.

Helder held a required public hearing recently and immigrant advocates asked him to end that participation. The program, they said, discourages people from calling 911 in emergencies or to report crimes. One said he knew a couple that did not attend their son's graduation from the University of Arkansas because they were afraid of being deported.

That's an unfortunate situation for that family, but Helder didn't create it.

The sheriff's offices are not to blame for immigrants' fears. It is, or should be, an expectation for anyone that if they are arrested and booked into the jail on suspicion of criminal behavior, it's fair game for law enforcement to look into their personal backgrounds, immigrant or not. Certainly, people in the country illegally would rather not have their status discovered. But law enforcement officers should enforce, not ignore, the law.

Assumptions that a call to authorities to report a crime will result in deportation are misplaced. Anyone who witnesses a crime should report it to authorities, especially if they remain committed to providing better lives for themselves and their families. Turning a blind eye to crime harms everyone in the community.

Helder and Benton County Sheriff Shawn Holloway aren't clones of Arizonan Joe Arpaio, who was held in contempt for detaining people on suspicion they were in the country illegally. Before any legal status check happens here, a person has to be suspected of some other crime against the community.

Letting criminals prey on the community is not in anyone's interests.

Commentary on 08/19/2017

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