In another assault on public safety and commonsense, a national coalition of immigration enthusiasts is pushing \u201cno-cash bail\u201d policies to spring criminal aliens from local lockups.<\/p>\n
The jailbreak is led by the Fair Punishment Project and two migrant-defense organizations that bemoan President Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cbarbaric immigration policies.\u201d<\/p>\n
The group\u2019s report \u2013 \u201cThe Promise of Sanctuary Cities and the Need for Criminal Justice Reforms in an Era of Mass Deportation\u201d \u2013 never uses the term \u201cillegal immigrants\u201d in its 35 pages. Nor does it offer any evidence that America is in an era of mass deportation. But the study lumps illegal alien criminals in with garden-variety offenders who are, it is asserted, abused by the American criminal-justice system.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe (cash bail) system keeps poor people in jail because they cannot pay,\u201d the study states.<\/p>\n
Obvious as that may be, the Fair Punishment Project argues that illegal immigrants charged with criminal offenses are entitled to a get-out-of-jail-free card. Why?<\/p>\n
Because keeping them behind bars \u201cmakes many noncitizens sitting ducks for ICE.\u201d<\/p>\n
And the problem with that is?<\/p>\n
The progressive-left\u2019s campaign for reduced (or no) bail overreaches when it extends a free pass to criminal aliens who, by definition, pose a flight risk.<\/p>\n
Putting up cash surety \u2013 with the amount contingent on the severity of the offense and the risk of flight \u2013 keeps dangerous individuals off the street. At minimum, money bonds incentivize defendants to show up in court.<\/p>\n
Alternatively, more personal-recognizance releases strain law enforcement and increase costs with GPS tracking gear and added staff supervision, as Harris County (Houston) contends in an ongoing court challenge.<\/p>\n
Fair Punishment\u2019s report actually makes the case for setting cash bail.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor localities that notify or otherwise cooperate with ICE, setting bail increases the likelihood that ICE will have time to issue a detainer,\u201d the study acknowledges.<\/p>\n
In the sanctuary city of Austin, Texas, newly elected District Attorney Margaret Moore intends to ask judges to raise the bail amounts for immigrant offenders to ensure they are not released before prosecution.<\/p>\n
\u201cICE can simply wait until the individual finally walks out of jail,\u201d Fair Punishment observes.<\/p>\n
Exactly.