Following through on his previous warnings, the mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter, signed an executive order on Wednesday to prohibit Philadelphia law enforcement from honoring most detainer requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). According to the Philadelphia Inquirer:
About 17 localities, including Miami, San Francisco, Newark, N.J., New Orleans, and New York City, have modified their policies on ICE holds.
But where some apply only to police, Philadelphia’s new rules apply both to its police and prison departments. The order also means the city won’t tell ICE about a prisoner’s pending release unless the person was convicted of a violent felony and ICE’s request is supported by a warrant from a judge.
Last week, FAIR wrote a letter to Mayor Nutter that urged him to reconsider his proposed anti-cooperation policy. In the letter, FAIR noted that anti-cooperation policies impede federal enforcement of immigration law and pose a serious threat to public safety by creating safe havens that facilitate criminal activity, especially in regard to drug and gang-related crimes, human trafficking, and identity theft.
FAIR also dispelled the myth that cooperation with ICE detainer requests squelches immigrant cooperation with police:
Your proposed executive order is not necessary to establish trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities. It is absurd to suggest that immigrants do not want their communities kept safe from criminal aliens. Moreover, police do not inquire about the immigration status of witnesses or victims of crime, much less fingerprint them. Therefore, there is no reason for immigrants – even illegal immigrants who have not committed other criminal offenses – to be deterred from cooperating with police.
Anti-cooperation policies carry so much risk, that former ICE Director John Morton sent a letter to FAIR in August 2012 stating:
ICE has explained to jurisdictions…that by ignoring ICE detainers they are undermining public safety in their communities by exposing their local communities to risks from suspected and convicted sex offenders, weapons violators, drunk drivers, and other violent criminals. These are not hypothetical risks.
Nutter’s executive order follows in the footsteps of the latest efforts by pro-amnesty and open border groups to undermine U.S. immigration laws. California and Connecticut passed similar anti-cooperation legislation last year, while several states, including Massachusetts, are currently considering the same. An attempt was made this year in Maryland, but the Senate bill never made it out of committee and the House version was withdrawn to save embarrassment and certain defeat.
10 Comments
And the Philidelphia Police and ICE Want Legal Americans Abiding by the Laws?
While they run loose like organised crime?
Nutter is acting like Barack Obama, they both need to raise their heads and take a breather away from granting amnesty to illegal aliens. They’re only doing this to acquire votes for the Democratic Party. They are a disgrace to the United States of America.
The lying continues at Huffington Post. In an article attacking Californians for Population Stabilization as “an extreme hate group”, the author makes this completely false claim: “California’s population is set to decline,”. But if you read the link to a USC study, it says this: “A return to normal growth.” Which of course means the average increase of about 5 million every ten years for the last few decades. And most of that will be the result of immigration as it has been for the last couple decades.
I guess that makes the late liberal Senator Gaylord Nelson, the founder of Earth Day, an “extremist”. Because he said you cannot talk about the environment without talking about immigration.
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This lawlessness by supposedly lawmakers and those that took an oath to protect their citizens and provide safety, has to cease!
If citizens don’t fight this, it is they, their children that are put in harm’s way, not these elite politicians!
These elite politicians are guarded and live in places that will never see the crime committed upon their citizens!
Illegals have placed demands upon our government, demanding we change our laws to suit them….What country could we go to and act so arrogant that we demand every right their people have? None!
This has to stop, and stop now! Time for citizens to start demanding!!
And if a dem wins governor, pa follows ca and other rogue states
I lived in Italy for many years (20) but always registered with the Police (Questura), received residence status and finally dual citizenship (American and Italian). Laws are for a reason. I believe we have to do something to help the children of people who were brought here as youngsters, and help their families as well. But it should be done under the law, perhaps the benevolent hand of the law. No one wants to cause anxiety and unhappiness, but people should come out of the shadows and see what can be done for them. I believe the Mayor is not doing his duty as a public official. He should be the first to uphold the law, not impede lawmakers doing their duty. Of course, the real bad guys are in Congress, sitting on their hands and not passing a fair and just Immigration Bill.
We’re all gonna wake up some day, and this country will be just like Mexico… Far more violent and corrupt than this country currently is. These liberal politicians are buying votes – nothing more – and they don’t seem to care what the disastrous results are likely to be.
These mayors and governing bodies of cities and counties should be removed from office for failing to uphold their sworn oath to uphold the laws of their state and U.S.!
I could not agree more. Am I right in understanding that the Governor of Maryland has issued an executive order to the Department of Public Safety prohibiting them from cooperating with ICE? This could not pass the legislature, so, taking a page from President Obama’s playbook, he abused his authority and ignored the separation of powers. How can it not be an impeachable offense to order State employees to disregard legal requests from the Federal government? Federal officials need to be reminded that their oath of allegiance is to the Constitution, not to the politically motivated overreach of a particular administration.