{"id":13903,"date":"2017-03-24T14:09:27","date_gmt":"2017-03-24T18:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-immigrationreform.pantheonsite.io\/?p=13903"},"modified":"2018-12-28T12:55:35","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T17:55:35","slug":"maryland-values-criminal-aliens-more-than-crime-victims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2017\/03\/24\/maryland-values-criminal-aliens-more-than-crime-victims\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland Values Criminal Aliens More than Crime Victims"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe first duty<\/a> of the Government is to afford protection to its citizens.\u201d So said Representative John Farnsworth during Congressional debate in 1867.\u00a0 Maryland and the city of Rockville woefully failed to fulfill this duty with regard to the 14-year-old Rockville High School student whom, it is alleged, was recently raped<\/a> by two illegal aliens<\/a>. It\u2019s mind-boggling \u00a0that the response from the Maryland General Assembly<\/a> and the Rockville City Council<\/a> has been to consider \u201csanctuary city\u201d legislation that shelters illegal aliens from federal immigration authorities.<\/p>\n

The standard argument<\/a> offered in support of \u201csanctuary<\/a>\u201d policies is that state and local law enforcement agencies must have the trust of illegal aliens if they want them to report crime. Supposedly, they can only gain this trust if illegal aliens believe that local police officers won\u2019t report them to federal immigration authorities. \u00a0In essence, local law enforcement officials are saying that they want the power to bargain immigration enforcement away in order to increase successful state prosecutions.\u00a0 It\u2019s the classic \u201cyou scratch my back, I\u2019ll scratch yours\u201d argument that underlies plea bargains.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s where the \u00a0argument starts to unravel: \u00a0while local police and state prosecutors have the authority to strike plea bargains, they don\u2019t have any authority to offer witnesses or informants immunity from prosecution on federal immigration charges.\u00a0 So in many jurisdictions, the forces of law and order \u2013 local police, local prosecutors, and local courts \u2013 conspire to help illegal aliens violate federal immigration law, all in the name of better relations between immigrant communities and the police. (And it\u2019s the only area of law where policing agencies advocate the interests of violators who say they\u2019d prefer less enforcement.\u00a0 You never hear cops and DA\u2019s arguing that burglars would be more willing to drop a dime on drug dealers and murderers if we just ignored more home invasions.)<\/p>\n

Of course, the whole concept is an intellectual house of cards that comes crashing down \u2013 usually to the detriment of law abiding Americans \u2013 when the slightest breeze of logic blows in.\u00a0 It\u2019s\u00a0 absurd to claim that state and local jurisdictions must overlook immigration violations to ensure the cooperation of illegal alien witnesses. Illegal aliens in the United States are regularly unafraid to publicly announce their lack of status,\u00a0 appear on television news programs, protest in the streets, and march into state and local legislative bodies to advocate \u201csanctuary\u201d policies. They clearly have no fear of local police.<\/p>\n

In addition, the federal government maintains special programs that give lawful immigration status to illegal alien witnesses, informants and victims.\u00a0 Law enforcement agencies can obtain S visas<\/a> for illegal aliens who cooperate with investigators and provide information or testimony that aids in arrests or prosecutions. The U<\/a> and T visas<\/a> are available to the victims of crime and human trafficking.\u00a0 There are also special provisions of the Violence Against Women Act<\/a> (VAWA) which allow victims of domestic abuse to obtain legal immigration status.\u00a0 The \u201csanctuary\u201d offered by state and local jurisdictions doesn\u2019t \u201cprotect\u201d illegal aliens from anything.\u00a0 Federal officials can still arrest and deport them. But when state and local authorities work with the federal government, \u00a0illegal alien victims, witnesses, and informants gain lawful status in exchange for their testimony.<\/p>\n

So, what do \u201csanctuary city\u201d policies accomplish? A dangerous breakdown in collaborative federalism<\/a>. By trivializing the violation of immigration laws, legitimating disrespect for federal authority, and encouraging general lawlessness, they simply invite more criminal behavior. Every crime committed by an illegal alien is, by definition, a preventable crime. The supporters of the sanctuary movement are all too willing to sacrifice the safety and well-being of law-abiding citizens and school girls on the altar of political correctness.