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ALIPAC

Arizona
 Immigration Law

As the phenomenon of so-called "anchor babies" -- infants born to illegal aliens within the United States and its territories that automatically become citizens -- becomes more of an election issue in many localities, a Pew poll reveals that 8 percent of babies born each year in the U.S. are anchor babies.

The study which was released yesterday comes as more and more Americans are showing concern over illegal aliens entering the U.S. and garnering a treasure-trove of benefits such as free education, health care, and other social programs. Some conservative lawmakers wish to amend the 14th Amendment from which the court have derived the concept of "anchor babies." See Full Article
             

Illegal Immigration – How Florida Can Take Action!

The distinction of ‘legal’ and ‘illegal’ immigration has existed since 1882, when Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, one of the nation’s first immigrations laws established to keep immigrant populations out of the United States. Additionally, police response to the immigrant community is not new either. However, the enforcement of our immigration laws has become much more complex. Not only has the number of illegal aliens increased drastically (estimates from 12 to 20 million) but they are from a large number of different countries with multiple cultures and languages.

LOCAL ACTION: Our local law allows inquiry into the immigration status of an alien only if a crime has been committed or if there is a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed. Traffic violations are a frequent cause to question an alien. A driver’s license can be asked for. If he has no driver’s license, often the alien will admit he is here illegally. The officer can then call “ICE” Immigration Custom Enforcement to come get the illegal. ICE has a limited amount of special agents to assist the approximately 18,000 state and local law enforcement agencies who may need their help (nearest field office is Mobile, AL). ICE response can vary by state, by region and even time of day. Few resources are available when local agencies seek support after normal business hours. ICE can take days to pick up the illegal. An Alien cannot be housed in jails with “common criminals” but in a separate facility. The Officer cannot arrest the illegal if the traffic violation is a misdemeanor. Most immigration violations are not criminal but are civil. These violations include being illegally present in the United States and failure to depart after expiration of a visa. Some criminal violations include illegally reentering the United States, alien smuggling and “willfully” disobeying an order of removal. The Officer cannot arrest the illegal alien for a civil violation. He can check The National Crime Information Center (NCIC) entries. However, NCIC entries contain both civil and criminal immigration violators, thus requiring the Officer to determine the nature of the underlying offense resulting in the NCIC entry. The Officer can hold the illegal for a reasonable amount of time, usually 30 minutes. The end result is that the illegal is turned loose. If the alien doesn’t admit he is illegal, the Officer can call for an Immigration Alien Query (IAQ). Then he must check four different National search sites. These sites are not integrated and each must be checked manually, taking several hours. If the alien has not encountered some law enforcement or immigration enforcement agency, he will not be on those lists. Immigration status is not easily ascertained. Immigration documents are unusual and are often counterfeited. If an Officer makes a mistake in determining status, court battles and lawsuits will result. Most of the time the alien will be released and the above scenario will again take place.

Director Collins stated they have limited resources for determining if an alien is legal or illegal; therefore they concentrate on criminal behavior such as drug smuggling, human trafficking, gang activity, identify theft crimes, and fraudulent identification scams. According to ICE, illegal aliens are buying genuine documents with real identities, stolen from unwitting victims. This poses a significant challenge to national and local security.

EMPLOYERS: Hiring illegal aliens is illegal under the 1986 Immigration Reduction and Control Act (IRCA). Employers who hire illegal workers often pay less than minimum wage, fail to withhold taxes and avoid paying into the unemployment fund, worker’s compensation fund and other expenses. By hiring illegal workers, the earning capacity of the illegal workers may be undercut because the illegal workers will accept lower wages. Employers will claim they didn’t know the worker was illegal. The SSA data base has errors and warning notices that it should not be used for “hiring and firing purposes”. Employers have three days to produce I9’s and proof of ID’s. Before law enforcement can make a raid, they must have the plan, buses/transportation and a detention location. In spite of these deterrents, the Okaloosa Sheriff Department has made several significant raids on such employers. By working with Worker’s Compensation officials, they were able to make numerous arrests and shut down two restaurants for a period of time. However, the state required Worker’s Comp Officials to cease working with law enforcement on such raids.

POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS: One major problem is identifying the Illegal Alien. We need to find a way to combine the four Federal databases to allow the information to be efficiently available to law enforcement. There have been arguments for and against allowing Illegal Aliens to obtain Drivers Licenses. If implemented it could require picture, background check, fingerprints, being tested for driving and comprehension of driving laws; as well as, obtaining liability insurance.
                      

Would a Law such as Arizona’s work for Florida? How can we enforce current laws? We will continue this series on “Illegal Immigration – How Florida Can Take Action” as we ask the Sheriff’s candidates for their ideas.