February 16, 2021 \u2014 Yesterday, 73 current and former elected prosecutors and law enforcement leaders, and former Attorneys General and Department of Justice officials, filed an amicus<\/i> brief in the United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals in support of New Jersey\u2019s landmark Immigrant Trust Directive \u2013 a statewide policy that aims to fortify trust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement by limiting voluntary assistance in federal immigration enforcement activities. As these national criminal justice leaders highlight in the brief, local law enforcement involvement in immigration enforcement can deeply erode public trust and exacerbate fear within immigrant communities, making them less likely to report crimes and cooperate with investigations. New Jersey\u2019s thoughtful policy is therefore essential to promoting public safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt a time when trust between law enforcement and the people they serve is already deeply fractured, local criminal justice leaders should be free to invest in building relationships with the community, not forced to act as immigration enforcers,\u201d said Miriam Krinsky, Executive Director of <\/b>Fair and Just Prosecution<\/b><\/a> and a former federal prosecutor. \u201cMandates that entangle local law enforcement in immigration enforcement further erode public trust, compromise the safety of our communities and create more precarious conditions for some of our country\u2019s most vulnerable residents. It is past time for a new vision for our nation\u2019s immigration system: one in which no one is caged, deported or punished for seeking safety, freedom and the American dream. New Jersey\u2019s Immigrant Trust Directive is a critical step in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n In the brief, amici<\/i> cite numerous studies showing that immigrants are less likely to report crimes because of fear related to their immigration status, and because of this, they are more susceptible to becoming victims themselves. As amici<\/i> note, \u201c[t]he risk to the perpetrators…is minimal because the victims are often too afraid of adverse immigration consequences to report the crimes to the police.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs a law enforcement leader, I have committed to \u2013 and take pride in \u2013 protecting every member of my community, including immigrants who have come to our country in pursuit of a better life,\u201d said Washtenaw County, Mich. Sheriff Jerry Clayton<\/b>, one of the signatories on the brief. \u201cPutting immigration enforcement in the hands of local officers deters victims and witnesses from reporting crimes and increases the likelihood that these essential members of our community become victims of crime themselves, threatening public safety that I work to advance every day.\u201d<\/p>\n Amici<\/i> further argue that local and state involvement in immigration enforcement diverts critical resources from efforts necessary to promote safer and healthier communities, noting that \u201ccomplying with ICE detainer requests can add staggering costs\u2014in some cases, tens of millions of dollars annually.\u201d At a time of limited budgets resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is both dangerous and fiscally irresponsible to shift local resources into immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people elected me to promote public safety for everyone in the community, regardless of their citizenship status,\u201d said Santa Clara County, Calif. District Attorney Jeff Rosen<\/b>, another signatory on the brief.\u00a0 \u201cWe should be reaching out to immigrant communities, not isolating them by putting individuals and their families in more danger.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe attacks on New Jersey\u2019s Immigrant Trust Directive threaten to divert critical resources from efforts to transform the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve,\u201d said Mary McCord, Legal Director of Georgetown Law\u2019s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection<\/b> and a former federal prosecutor. \u201cBuilding trust with immigrant communities is essential for public safety.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the brief here<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n ###<\/i><\/p>\n Fair and Just Prosecution is a national network of elected prosecutors working towards common-sense, compassionate criminal justice reforms. To learn more about FJP\u2019s work, visit our<\/i> website<\/i><\/a> and follow us on<\/i> Facebook<\/i><\/a> and<\/i> Twitter<\/i><\/a>.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n ICAP uses the power of the courts to defend American constitutional rights and values. Based at Georgetown Law Center, ICAP draws on expert litigators, savvy litigation strategy, and the constitutional scholarship of Georgetown to vindicate individuals\u2019 rights and to protect America\u2019s constitutional way of life. More information about ICAP can be found at <\/i>law.georgetown.edu\/icap<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" February 16, 2021 \u2014 Yesterday, 73 current and former elected prosecutors and law enforcement leaders, and former Attorneys General and Department of Justice officials, filed an amicus brief in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":0,"parent":26,"menu_order":22,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":""},"class_list":["post-1969","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"ticketed":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/icap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/icap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/icap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/icap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/icap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1969"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/icap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1978,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/icap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1969\/revisions\/1978"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/icap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/26"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/icap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}