Letter to the Editor: I oppose an Iowa law that would change the enforcement of immigration laws

(The following Letter to the Editor has been submitted by Margaret Betteridge of Decorah):

"I am writing to voice my opposition to Iowa Senate File 481, 'A bill for an act relating to the enforcement of immigration laws and providing penalties and remedies, including the denial of state funds to certain entities.'

This bill works against local control of law enforcement and attempts to detain immigrant prisoners without a federal warrant. Our local police and sheriff departments work hard to develop trust and respect in our communities.

As Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez from Illinois explains: "Trump's presidency is based on a number of lies, but one of the most important is to paint all immigrants as killers and rapists. Trump and his team incorrectly see Fourth Amendment policies that require warrants to hold prisoners for the Feds as a threat to public safety, but the reality is that in most cities, the police have found that acting as deportation police makes it harder to keep their cities safe. Immigrants are part of our communities and need to know that when they witness a crime or have information the police can use, they can call 911 and not lose their children or their homes to deportation."

Immigrants provide a rich cultural diversity to our communities. Most of them work hard and pay their taxes. In NE Iowa, as in other parts of the U.S., we often depend on immigrants to provide labor in the agricultural and food processing industries. 

I believe in local control of our law enforcement. ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) detainers have resulted in the illegal imprisonment of countless individuals, including U.S.citizens, lawful permanent residents, and Latinos in particular, often without any charges pending, sometimes for days or weeks after they should have been released.

Local law enforcement are not trained to be immigration police and are already stressed in terms of staff and budgets. Let's encourage our legislators to keep ICE arrests at the federal level, and to not add this responsibility to our local police force. Federal ICE officials are trained for this duty and should be the only agents required to enforce immigration laws when necessary."