Former mayor warns resolution is a slippery slope
By Eric Valentine
A community where all of its residents are comfortable reporting crimes and communicating with police—without fear of being deported—is a safer community. And, immigration status checks are the job of the federal government, anyway.
That was the overwhelming consensus of Hailey residents who spoke in favor of adopting a so-called safer city resolution at Monday night’s city council meeting and council members who voted unanimously at that session to adopt that resolution. The resolution instructs city personnel—such as local police officers—to refrain from inquiring about the immigration status of members of the public or requiring documentation like passports from anyone a city worker or city official may encounter.
To be clear, a resolution only dictates internal city policy and is different from an ordinance, which enacts a law the public must follow. Also, in matters of criminal investigation by the federal government, city personnel would still be required to cooperate fully.
“With this resolution I firmly believe … that people will be more comfortable calling us. We are happy to move forward with it,” Hailey Police Chief Steve England said.
However, during public testimony Monday, two residents spoke out against the resolution, essentially calling it well-intended but potentially problematic. Tim Auger said he didn’t want to see cops have their hands tied when it came to criminal investigations. And former Hailey mayor Fritz Haemmerle called it a “sanctuary city” measure. Haemmerle noted the efforts in other cities to create Second Amendment sanctuaries, where federal laws restricting gun ownership would not be enforced. According to Haemmerle, when Twin Falls City Council voted against a gun-friendly resolution, residents there were also talking about creating an unborn children sanctuary.
“Cities are at the bottom of the food chain” when it comes to establishing laws, Haemmerle argued. “You can’t have a thousand different cities doing a thousand different laws. Ultimately, what that results in is people not following the rule of law.”
Haemmerle advocated for a public outreach campaign instead; one where members of the public would be made aware that city police and other staff would not act as a wing of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and that they should feel safe doing things like reporting crimes and receiving healthcare and food assistance.
But Hailey city attorney Christopher Simms sees it differently, as did another attorney who spoke as a member of the public, Justin McCarthy, and as did state Representative Muffy Davis. Essentially, their argument is that immigration law is the jurisdiction of the federal government, so city resources do not need to subsidize the work federal officials are to do. They also noted that in cases of criminal investigation, city personnel would have to cooperate fully with federal law and judicial warrants and orders.
“I don’t want to be the victim of a crime and I don’t want my daughter to be the victim of a crime that goes unreported by a witness,” Davis said. “I don’t believe this ties (police officers’) hands. I believe this shows them what to focus on.”
A number of other members of the public, one a student who said she was undocumented, testified how common it is for undocumented immigrants to avoid everything from reporting crimes to getting healthcare and food assistance for fear they’ll be deported.
What follows is one section of the new policy that Haemmerle expressed most of his concern over. Depending on how one reads it, some of the verbiage may feel like the local police are being asked to not cooperate with federal authorities. However, in each of those statements, the language “except where required by state or federal law” is used.
Federal Immigration Civil Law Enforcement. City police officers shall not use any city funds, resources, personnel, time, or labor to enforce civil or administrative federal immigration laws. “Enforce,” as used in this section, includes stopping, questioning, interrogating, investigating, or arresting an individual. Absent a judicial warrant or judicial order, an officer shall not detain or hold any individual solely for the purpose of investigating or enforcing a violation of civil or administrative federal immigration laws or related civil immigration warrant or detainer request. City police officers shall not provide federal authorities with non-publicly available information about any individual for immigration purposes, including by providing access to Department databases, except where required by state or federal law. The Hailey Police Department shall not conduct sweeps or other enforcement efforts to detain individuals solely on the basis of a violation of federal civil or administrative immigration laws, except where required by state or federal law.