Sanctuary city policies bar local law enforcement officials from cooperating
with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in order
to deport immigrants present in the U.S. with no legal status. In a recent
study, researchers from the
University of California, Riverside, found no evidence that sanctuary policies have any impact on crime rates
in those cities or counties. According to a recent statement from Attorney
General Jeff Sessions, however, the same study proves that cities with
sanctuary polices have higher violent crime rates than those cities who
have no such policies. One of the lead researchers, Benjamin Gonzalez-O’Brien,
who is an assistant professor of political science at Highline College,
flatly states that there is simply no evidence supporting Sessions’
statement. The study involved crime rates in 55 different cities, and
the compiled data indicated that there was no correlation between sanctuary
city policies and increased rates of violent crime in those cities. Nonetheless,
since the publication of the study results in the Washington Post, conservative
media outlets and politicians have used pieces of the study as evidence
that sanctuary city policies are dangerous to a city’s inhabitants.
Despite the opposition of the researchers themselves, the Trump administration
continues to stand by its claims that sanctuary cities have elevated violent
crime rates. Nonetheless, spokespersons for the administration have refused
to provide links to its specific sources in the research study results,
or any other source. Unfortunately, this is not the first time that Sessions
has misrepresented the truth with respect to sanctuary city policies.
For example, Sessions has repeatedly indicated that it is illegal for
local jurisdictions to decline to hold individuals when requested to do
so by ICE, which is simply not the case. No matter the outcome of the
sanctuary city debate, the skilled and knowledgeable immigration lawyers of
Landerholm Immigration, A.P.C.
are here to get detained immigrants released and defend them against removal
from the country. We handle these types of cases on a regular basis and
have valuable knowledge about how to best represent your interests, based
on your individual circumstances. By contacting our office right away,
you will place yourself in the best position possible to have loved ones
released from detention and defend again potential removal from home and family.
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