The battle for the presidency, not to mention control of\nthe Senate, may garner most of the headlines but an equally important story is\ntaking place in several races further down the ballot. Contests to fill elected\nlaw enforcement-focused offices in Georgia and Texas will impact the direction\nof immigration enforcement in those communities and could provide a glimpse of\nwhich direction those states will take in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Attorney General William Barr made clear in a February speech<\/a> about his department\u2019s tougher approach to sanctuary jurisdictions, not cooperating with federal immigration authorities is not about shielding those whose sole crime is violating our immigration law (which, for Barr\u2019s information, is sufficient legal cause for removal).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese policies are not about people who came to our\ncountry illegally but have otherwise been peaceful and productive members of\nsociety. Their express purpose is to shelter aliens whom local law\nenforcement has already arrested for other crimes,\u201d stated Barr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who wins does matter. The election of an anti-enforcement\ncandidate for sheriff can lead to the overnight termination of 287(g) programs,\nwhich is an agreement between local and federal authorities to grant local law\nenforcement permission to detain illegal aliens in their jails until\nhanding them over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In fiscal year (FY) 2019, the 287(g) program encountered\napproximately 775 aliens convicted for assault, 704 convicted for dangerous\ndrugs, 145 convicted for sex offenses\/assaults, 173 convicted for obstructing\npolice, 110 convicted for weapon offenses, and 21 convicted for homicide,\naccording to ICE. As Barr noted, non-cooperation with ICE protects criminals,\nnot those who only entered the country illegally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2018, open borders politicians and groups targeted sheriffs<\/a> in North Carolina, which is no longer a reliably Republican state, who had embraced the 287(g) program. They are trying the same in Georgia and even Texas. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n After decades of being a secure Republican state, Georgia\u2019s largest cities have grown more liberal and have shifted the state<\/a> into the toss-up category this year. The shifting demographics and politics in Georgia, as well as Texas<\/a>, is one reason why these races could portend what is to come. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Georgia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year in Athens, \u00a0John Williams defeated<\/a> incumbent Ira Edwards in his Democratic primary on the promise not to honor<\/a> ICE detainers nor cooperate at all with the agency. He faces Robert Hare, a Republican who worked in the sheriffs\u2019 office<\/a>, and supports enforcement of immigration law <\/p>\n\n\n\n A similarly matchup of polar opposites will take place in Cobb County. A glimpse of the responses given by incumbent Neil Warren, a Republican, and his Democratic challenger, Craig Owens, to an ACLU questionnaire<\/a> shows a stark contrast with regard to cooperation with immigration authorities. Immigration enforcement approaches have been front-and-center in this race as it was under Warren that Cobb County became the first law enforcement agency in Georgia<\/a> to join the 287(g) program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Texas<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In Tarrant County, the quick action taken by Sheriff Bill Wayburn to partner with ICE after his 2016 election is a prominent issue<\/a> in his race with Vance Keyes, a Democrat and current member of the Ft. Worth Police Department, who was pledged to withdraw from the 287(g) program<\/a> if elected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe 287(g) agreement has no appreciable positive impact on crime, is divisive, and is a political pet project rooted in fearmongering, not best criminal justice practices. It promotes the type of moral panic, minority-threat rhetoric that contradicts the very ethos of community policing,\u201d he stated in a July interview<\/a> and promised that, if elected, \u201cthe first step will be to eliminate the 287(g) agreement and be more inclusive of the entire Tarrant community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In what would be a first, Travis County voters could choose to elect, Jose Garza, a self-described \u201cimmigrant rights activist<\/a>\u201d as its next district attorney. A former public defender and leader of the pro-illegal immigration Workers Defense Project, faces off<\/a> against Republican candidate Martin Harry in a race dominated more by criminal justice reform issues than immigration. Given the county is home to liberal Austin, Garza stands a good chance of breaking new ground. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The battle for the presidency, not to mention control of the Senate, may garner most of the headlines but an equally important story is taking place in several races further down the ballot. Contests to fill elected law enforcement-focused offices in Georgia and Texas will impact the direction of immigration enforcement in those communities and<\/p>\n