How does local police involvement in immigration policies affect community relations?

Abstract

This research project explores how the involvement, or lack of, of local police departments affect the federal government’s efforts of immigration enforcement. By extension, the relationship between Hispanic/Latino communities and local police departments will also be examined. This research is divided into three sections: the first explains what immigration enforcement in the United States looks like on the federal level, the second looks deeper into the local police departments and their immigration protocols. This section also delves into the importance of sanctuary cities and how they make a difference in the numbers. Statistics show that 70% of unauthorized immigrants and 44% of Latinos are less likely to communicate with law enforcement if they believe officers will question their immigration status or that of people they know (Solomon, 2017). Then the point of sanctuary cities is introduced, and how they have far more positive effects by comparison such as the decrease in crime. The last section examines how Hispanic and Latino communities are affected by their local police department’s stance on immigration. Research has shown that undocumented immigrants are less likely to report crime for fear of deportation and are less likely to call 911, access emergency care in life-threatening situations, or approach police as victims or witnesses of crime, for the same reasons. All in all, what the research shows is that local police getting involved in federal immigration policies creates more negative effects than positive. Mainly, there is lack of trust, the limitation of existing resources, and an increase in racial profiling