US Police chiefs object to Trump's efforts to involve them in immigrant deportations
Police chiefs from
across the US, including several from states that voted for Donald Trump, are
resisting White House moves to force them to become more involved in deporting
undocumented immigrants. In a joint
letter, more than 60 law enforcement heads are appealing to Trump in all
but name to soften his aggressive drive to enlist police officers in the highly
contentious job of deporting millions of immigrants living without permission
in the country. They object to being thrust into “new and sometimes problematic
tasks” that will undermine the balance between the local communities they serve
and the federal government, and “harm locally-based, community-oriented
policing”.
The letter is signed
by 61 current and former local police chiefs and sheriffs, many of whom come
from states won by Trump last November including Alabama, Arizona, Florida,
South Carolina and Texas. The political diversity and geographic spread of the
signatories underlines the deep apprehension felt by many within the law
enforcement community toward the president’s plans to beef up their role in
rounding up, detaining and ultimately deporting huge numbers of people.
The letter, written
under the auspices of the Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force, a coalition
of senior law enforcement experts convened by the National Immigration Forum,
does not mention Trump by name. But it indirectly references his
administration’s efforts to force police to play a more central role in the
deportation business... read more: