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[personal profile] livingdeb
Texas has passed a law against sanctuary cities to go into effect September 1 unless it is found unconstitutional. Sanctuary cities are places where police officers are not allowed to ask about immigration status. The idea of sanctuary cities is that this allows all residents to feel safe working with the police to reduce crime.

This is like when I worked for the Census Bureau; we had to swear not to give Immigration any information we found so that everyone would cooperate with us and make it easier to get a proper count.

The bill also means that police have to honor detainers issues by federal immigration officials. In sanctuary cities, they don't want to do this unless the person in question is suspected of a major crime.

If you listen to liberals, this new law will lead to the harassment of people based on their looks and will increase crime by people taking advantage of the new fear of harassment. (Also, people who have done nothing or very little wrong will be grabbed and sent back to dangerous countries, leaving their children behind.) The crimes that interest the feds include illegal immigration as well as other crimes.

If you listen to conservatives, police have been refusing to help immigration in any way, thus putting all kinds of dangerous criminals back on the streets.

Well, what's the truth? Does sanctuary city status lead to letting more dangerous criminals go free or not? I don't know, and I don't know how to find out.

(Interestingly, both liberals and conservatives claim to want the same thing: keep dangerous criminals off the street. Liberals claim that of course they cooperate against dangerous criminals; conservatives that they don't. If the conservatives are lying, it's so that they get to harass minorities legally. If the liberals are lying, it's so that they get to--what? What is the evil thing they're trying to get away with? Why would anyone want to protect criminals? Who aren't important football players or police? I am getting really sick of the politicization of everything. I just want to know what actually works and what the bad side-effects are.)

Meanwhile, I decided I should get another copy of my birth certificate because I can't find the first one I got and I don't want to carry my passport around. Maybe I could just carry a photocopy of my passport (or birth certificate), but I can't find information on that. Instead I found The Hill's No, Texas did not pass a ‘show us your papers’ law.

"Opponents of SB 4 call it the “show us your papers” law. In fact, no Texan is required to submit “papers” under this law. Local law-enforcement officers are not required to ask individuals about their immigration status. Nor are they required to notify federal immigration authorities about an individual — unless there’s a criminal investigation involving that person."

Well, if I'm getting pulled over for speeding or having a tail light out, doesn't that mean I have become involved in a criminal investigation? And what about people being pulled over for driving-while-Hispanic-looking? Do I need to have papers to show or do I not?

Personally, I am lucky and my pasty-white skin-cancer-riddled face does not look Muslim or Hispanic, nor does my name sound alien. I am unlikely to be asked about my immigration status, just like I am unlikely to be asked to prove that I am over 21 in bars. But I still can be asked, and the police should not have to go around judging people by their looks--if they ask some people, they should ask everyone, and so that could include me.
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