Governor Jon Corzine’s support of sensible policies towards immigrants is a welcomed response in a state where municipalities have attempted to chase out immigrant workers and families. These municipalities must also have a clear directive on the role of local law enforcement.
On Monday, a panel Corzine established in 2007 delivered policy and legislative recommendations for integrating immigrants. There was a clear need for that significant groundwork. In the Garden State, towns like Riverside attempted to enact punitive ordinances against landlords who rented to undocumented immigrants. Hate groups have targeted immigrants and day laborers continue to suffer harassment.
With the exception of a driver’s license policy, Corzine has expressed overall support of the recommendations. While the timeline for implentation is not clear, many of these recommendations warrant immediate action.
One of the policies the commission addresses is a directive issued by New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram for how local law enforcement officers interact with federal immigration authorities. Gaping holes exist in that order.
Vague language in the directive and the lack of supervision and data reports, among other problems, allow for officers to easily trigger federal immigration authorities and run roughshod over civil rights in a state tarnished by profiling by police officers.
The gaps in this well-intentioned but flawed directive are unfolding. From September 2007 to January 2008, New Jersey officers referred 10,000 individuals to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). One third of the individuals referred to ICE turned out to be U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, according to the commission.
We agree with the commission’s recommendation for modifying the directive so that it includes objective standards, training for law enforcement officers and monitoring. These steps are critical as Washington has yet to act on the broken 287G program that enlists local police officers as immigration agents. That program has folded the civil violation of illegal entry into criminal law enforcement.
The onus is on Milgram to create a policy that does not breed distrust of police by crime victims and witnesses. She should address this quickly as the problems with New Jersey's directive are not new. If she does not act, Corzine should follow through with a moratorium on the directive, as the commission unanimously recommends.
Governor Jon Corzine’s support of sensible policies towards immigrants is a welcomed response in a state where municipalities have attempted to chase out immigrant workers and families. These municipalities must also have a clear directive on the role of local law enforcement.
On Monday, a panel Corzine established in 2007 delivered policy and legislative recommendations for integrating immigrants. There was a clear need for that significant groundwork. In the Garden State, towns like Riverside attempted to enact punitive ordinances against landlords who rented to undocumented immigrants. Hate groups have targeted immigrants and day laborers continue to suffer harassment.
With the exception of a driver’s license policy, Corzine has expressed overall support of the recommendations. While the timeline for implentation is not clear, many of these recommendations warrant immediate action.
One of the policies the commission addresses is a directive issued by New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram for how local law enforcement officers interact with federal immigration authorities. Gaping holes exist in that order.
Vague language in the directive and the lack of supervision and data reports, among other problems, allow for officers to easily trigger federal immigration authorities and run roughshod over civil rights in a state tarnished by profiling by police officers.
The gaps in this well-intentioned but flawed directive are unfolding. From September 2007 to January 2008, New Jersey officers referred 10,000 individuals to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). One third of the individuals referred to ICE turned out to be U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, according to the commission.
