Sign-On Letter to the House and Senate Urging Opposition to the Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal (CLEAR) Act, H.R. 2671

Dear Member of Congress:

We, the undersigned, urge you to oppose the Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal (CLEAR) Act, H.R. 2671, introduced by Representative Charles Norwood (R-9th/GA). Despite its title and the rhetoric surrounding it, this bill would have dangerous consequences for public safety.

We agree that our criminal laws need to be enforced in order to make our streets and communities safe. State and local police are currently authorized to enforce criminal laws, regardless of the immigration status of the perpetrator of the crime. They are also authorized to notify federal immigration agents about foreign nationals who have committed crimes. This authority is fully consistent with the public safety role of police. However, the CLEAR Act would force police to investigate and enforce federal civil immigration laws-for example, staying past the expiration date of a temporary visa is a civil immigration law violation. Asking local police to enforce civil laws would actually have a detrimental effect on crime solving and prevention. Newcomers and native-born residents alike, who are victims or witnesses of crime, would be less likely to approach local law enforcement for fear of exposing themselves or their immigrant family members to deportation.

We have grave concerns about several provisions of this bill, and ask you to consider the following:

State and local police are not equipped to enforce federal civil immigration laws. Federal immigration agents undergo an intensive 17-week training course in immigration law before they begin duty. The immigration code is among the most complex bodies of law, even in comparison to the tax code. It is infeasible to adequately train 600,000 state and local police officers in immigration law enforcement. And at a time of severe budget crises, when local police departments are simultaneously laying off staff and responding to new homeland security mandates, tacking on such a wide body of federal laws to enforce would simply overwhelm these agencies.

If newcomers and their families view local police as immigration agents, they will be discouraged from reporting crimes or serving as witnesses. It was no surprise that the Department of Justice’s similar effort last year (to give local police the authority to enforce civil immigration laws) was denounced by scores of local police departments. Police attribute plummeting crime rates over the last decade or so to the “”community policing”” philosophy, where local police work to gain the trust and confidence of the residents they are charged with protecting. Enactment of the CLEAR Act would undermine the efforts-and successes-of local police, as word that they are now immigration agents will spread like wildfire in newcomer communities. Immediately, more immigrants and U.S. citizens with immigrant family members would decline to come forward to report crimes, fires, and other hazards, simply because they know that their immigration status or that of their family members would come under new scrutiny. When immigrants and their family members are scared to report crimes and suspicious activity, crimes go unsolved and the safety of the entire community is compromised.

As organizations that work with immigrants on a regular basis, we can point to countless examples of the chilling effect this bill would have on crime reporting. For example, immigrant victims of domestic violence are often told by their batterers that if they report the abuse to authorities, they will be deported. This forces victims to decide between two nightmares: remaining with their abuser, or potentially facing separation from their children and leaving them at the mercy of the batterer. The decision to report abuse is already difficult enough. Fear of immigration consequences on the part of the victim should never be a factor. Sadly, though, this is often the case. In fact, we know of situations in which the victim’s immigration status has indeed come under scrutiny, either by the local police investigating the situation or the judge adjudicating a protective order. When other domestic abuse victims see their friends and relatives in deportation proceedings because they sought help from authorities, the message is clear: do not report the crime or you will face even harsher consequences.

This problem is not limited to domestic violence cases. Other examples show how criminals are not apprehended when immigrants begin to fear contact with local police, and stop reporting crimes or information. A Pakistani immigrant from Brooklyn, NY was stabbed in the foyer of his building in January 2003.[i] To avoid having to make a police report (because he was undocumented and feared the consequences), he told paramedics that he had stabbed himself. In Manhattan, a Mexican teenager was raped, but was afraid to report it to police because of her own undocumented status.[ii] And in Clearwater, FL, the murder of an immigrant mother and her child may go unsolved because residents with clues or information of interest to local police are afraid to come forward.[iii] These are isolated examples of what would quickly become an epidemic, should the CLEAR Act pass.

In addition to the public safety concerns posed by this bill, it practically ensures the likelihood of civil rights abuses and wrongful arrests. There are nearly eleven million naturalized U.S. citizens, and more than twenty-five million native-born Americans of Latin American and Asian descent. Citizens are not required to carry proof of citizenship with them. Yet some police officers, vested with the authority proposed in the CLEAR Act, would inevitably stop and question people of certain ethnic backgrounds, who speak foreign languages, or who have accents-leading to violations of the rights of U.S. citizens and legal residents whose only offense is “”appearing foreign.”” Anticipating this, the bill purports to grant immunity from civil lawsuits for officers who enforce immigration laws. Such immunity is contrary to efforts to eradicate racial profiling from U.S. law enforcement, and it will not stop inevitable costly and lengthy litigation. Finally, wrongful arrests are likely as the bill requires that the notoriously bad data maintained by the federal immigration service be dumped into the National Crime Information Center database. This presents an administrative nightmare for state and local police, and again wastes precious resources at a time they can ill afford it.

If passed, the CLEAR Act would make state and local law enforcement officers’ jobs nearly impossible, and would bring us further from, not closer to, the goal we all share of making our communities safer. We urge you to oppose it.

Sincerely,

National Organizations

ACORN
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)
American Civil Liberties Union
American Immigration Lawyers Association
Amnesty International USA
Anti-Defamation League
Arab American Institute
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC)
The Committee for Inter-American Human Rights
Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM)
Family Violence Prevention Fund
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)
Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Immigrant Women Program of NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund
Immigration and Refugee Services of America
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA)
Lawyers Committee for Human Rights
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR)
Love Sees No Borders
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium
National Catholic Association of Diocesan Directors for Hispanic Ministry (NCADDHM)
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development
National Coalition for Haitian Rights
National Council of La Raza
National Employment Law Project
National Immigration Forum
National Immigration Law Center
National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild
National Korean American Service and Education Consortium
Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA)
People For the American Way
The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund
Service Employees International Union (SEIU), AFL-CIO, CLC
SHARE Foundation
Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force (SMART)
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)
Tahirih Justice Center
UNITE!
United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW)
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Regional, State, and Local Organizations

Alabama

Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama

Arizona

Addiction Services, P.C.
Border Action Network
Border Watch
Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project
Tempe Hispanic Forum

California

ACLU of Southern California
American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Los Angeles and Orange County Chapter
Asian Law Alliance
Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California
Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa
Catholic Charities Refugee and Immigrant Services-San Diego
Catholic Charities of San Jose
Central American Resource Center (CARECEN)-Los Angeles
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
Darin M. Camarena Health Centers, Inc.
East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation
East San Jose Community Law Center
Korean Resource Center of Los Angeles (KRC)
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights-San Francisco Bay Area
Migration Policy and Resource Center/Occidental College, Los Angeles
Newark Police Department
Sexual Assault Crisis Agency (SACA)
South Asian Network

Colorado

9to5 Colorado
Boulder County Safehouse
Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Fuerza Latina
Los Compañeros (San Juan Citizens Alliance)
Rights for All People/Derechos Para Todos

Connecticut

Catholic Charities Migration and Refugee Services-Hartford

District of Columbia

CARECEN-DC (Central American Resource Center)
Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs

Florida

Catholic Charities of Orlando, Inc.
Diocese of Orlando, Respect Life Office
The Farmworker Association of Florida, Inc.
Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center (FIAC)
Latino Leadership, Inc.
The Law Firm of M. Thomas Lobasz, P.A.
Office for Farmworker Ministry

Georgia

Immigration Services of Catholic Social Services-Atlanta

Hawaii

Catholic Charities Community and Immigrant Services
Na Loio – Immigrant Rights and Public Interest Legal Center

Illinois

Alivio Medical Center
Dominican Literacy Center
Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR)
The Immigration Project
Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC)
Latino Youth, Inc.
Peregrinos por la Dignidad

Iowa

Immigrant Rights Network of Iowa and Nebraska

Kansas

El Centro, Inc.

Louisiana

Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans
Migration and Refugee Services/Catholic Diocese of Lafayette
Office of Justice and Peace/Catholic Diocese of Lafayette

Maine

Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project

Maryland

Immigration Outreach Service Center (IOSC)
Migrant and Refugee Cultural Support, Inc. (MIRECS)

Massachusetts

Brazilian Immigrant Center
Brazilian Resources and Services Network
Brazilian Workers Center
Irish Immigration Center
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
UFCW Local 1445

Michigan

ACCESS (The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services)
Hispanic American Council
Michigan Organizing Project (MOP)

Minnesota

Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis Hispanic Ministry Leadership Team
C.N. Realty
Minnesota Literacy Council
Waseca Area Neighborhood Service Centre

Mississippi

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Jackson
Catholic Diocese of Jackson
Daughters of Charity
Dominican Sisters
Saint Anne Catholic Church

Nebraska

NE Mexican American Commission
Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest

New Jersey

Catholic Community Services, Refugee Resettlement and Immigration Assistance Programs-Newark
Migration and Refugee Services/Diocese of Trenton
New Jersey Coalition for Battered Women
New Jersey Immigration Policy Network, Inc.
Wind of the Spirit, Immigrant Resource Center

New Mexico

MANA de Albuquerque (Mexican American National Association of Women)

New York

Alianza Dominicana, Inc.
Asian Americans For Equality, Inc.
CUNY School of Law, Immigrant Initiatives
Cabrini Immigrant Services
Catholic Charities of Rockville Centre
Central American Legal Assistance
Central American Refugee Center
Centro Salvadoreño
Community Board 2 Manhattan
Face to Face
The Forest Hills Community House
Goddard Riverside Community Center
Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Union, Local 100
Latin American Integration Center
Marymount Manhattan College Institute for Immigrant Concerns
New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE) – Jackson Heights
New York Immigration Coalition
New York State Defenders Association
Rockland Immigration Coalition
Safe Horizon
Young Korean American Service & Education Center (YKASEC)

North Carolina

Center for New North Carolinians
Episcopal Farmworker Ministry
FaithAction
Latino Community Credit Union
Latino Community Development Center
North Carolina Justice and Community Development Center

Ohio

Community Refugee & Immigration Services
En Camino, Migrant and Immigrant Outreach/Diocese of Toledo

Oklahoma

Asian American Community Service Association, Inc.
Leblang, Sobel & Ashbaugh, P.L.L.P.

Rhode Island

International Institute of Rhode Island, Inc.

Tennessee

Garcia Labor Company, Inc.
Highlander Research and Education Center
Iraqi House
Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC)

Texas

ARCA (Association for Residency and Citizenship of America)
Association for Immigrants’ Equality and Freedom
BARCA, Inc.
Catholic Charities of Dallas, Immigration Counseling Services
Catholic Family Service, Inc.
Concilio de Inmigración
Equal Justice Center
Hines & Leigh, P.C.
School for All
Texas Civil Rights Project
Texas Council on Family Violence

Virginia

The Hispanic Committee of Virginia
Office of Justice and Peace, Catholic Diocese of Richmond
Refugee and Immigration Services, Catholic Diocese of Richmond
Refugee & Immigration Services – Roanoke Office
Tenants’ & Workers’ Support Committee
Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Virginia Justice Center for Farm and Immigrant Workers

Washington

Chinese Cultural Association
El Centro de la Raza
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
Washington Defender Association’s Immigration Project

Wisconsin

La Causa, Inc.
Voces de la Frontera

[i] Margie McHugh, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition, testimony before the Governmental Operations Committee and the Subcommittee on Immigration, New York City Council, May 5, 2003.

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] Tampa Tribune, “”Police Appeal For Clues In Slaying Of Mom, Son,”” Natashia Gregoire, July 22, 2003.