The [Un]Safe Communities Act

The inaptly named “Safe Communities Act” (Senate #1596 and House #3502), would in effect turn the Commonwealth of Massachusetts into a “sanctuary state” by preventing the use of state tax dollars towards any enforcement of federal immigration laws. If enacted, the bill would further hinder state and local law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with the federal government in the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws which will encourage greater numbers of illegal immigrants to seek entry into Massachusetts thereby putting a greater fiscal and social burden on the taxpayers of this Commonwealth.

I say “further hinder” law enforcement because in 2017 the MA Supreme Judicial Court ruled in Lunn v. Commonwealth that State law does not permit court officers to arrest and hold an individual solely based on an immigration detainer if there is no other lawful basis to hold that individual. In Lunn the Court noted that ICE Detainers are not “mandatory” but instead are “requests” from federal authorities, and the 10th Amendment prevents the federal government from forcing States to employ resources to administer federal programs. That said, there are instances where federal law expressly confers authority on State and local law enforcement to enforce immigration laws: (1) an actual or imminent mass influx of aliens; (2) to arrest and detain an illegal alien who is a convicted felon and who has previously been deported (when state law also permits) ; and (3) to arrest individuals who are harboring and/or transporting illegal aliens. The SJC in Lunn took issue with the lack of Due Process in the issuance of the ICE Detainer to the defendant in question. The SJC rightfully deferred to the legislature to “establish and define” the authority of state and local law enforcement with respect to immigration laws and ICE Detainers.

Not surprisingly, the proponents of the Act have taken taken things to the extreme and are seeking to prevent virtually any cooperation between State and local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. The bill, as presently drafted, would prevent state and local authorities from assisting federal authorities even in those instances where it is expressly permitted under federal law, such as in the case of a previously convicted felon who is in the country illegally, or where expressly permitted by agreement between State and federal agencies.

This is really the crux of the issue: while there is nothing requiring States to cooperate with federal authorities in enforcing immigration laws, they certainly may cooperate if there is a lawful basis for the cooperation and the State chooses to cooperate. Since 2017, because of decisions like Lunn and others, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has sought to improve the ICE Detainer forms and processes by requiring the attachment of a warrant to align with Due Process concerns. Even so, sanctuary states and cities have continued to try and hamper the federal government’s ability to secure our borders by enacting laws similar to the Act, which in effect ties the hands of state and local law enforcement. Is anyone really opposed to State and local law enforcement holding in custody previously deported convicted felons so that they can be removed from our communities and sent back to their home countries?

Supporters of the purported bill claim the Act will actually help law enforcement by allowing them to focus on preventing crime and will encourage witnesses/victims of crime to come forward more often, seek help, and see the cases through to their conclusion because they won’t be in fear of deportation. What the proponents of this bill fail to realize, or perhaps turn a blind eye to, is that in their quest for so-called “social justice” on the one hand they are encouraging individuals to ignore federal immigration laws and are putting the rights of criminal illegal aliens over that of the citizens of this country, and this Commonwealth.

Entering this country illegally is a crime under federal laws. Proponents of sanctuary cities/states, open borders and relaxed immigration laws almost always point to the fact that in most cases the crime of illegal entry is a misdemeanor, as if misdemeanor crimes aren’t worthy of enforcement, and that overstaying a visa, for instance, is a civil violation. First offense drug crimes and assault and battery are misdemeanors, does that mean we should not enforce those laws? Maybe we should all simply ignore the laws that we disagree with?

The failure of Congress, on both sides of the aisle, to enact national immigration law reform has caused the problems and inconsistencies we are now seeing at the State level. This uncertainty and growing number of sanctuary cities and states in the United States is encouraging more illegal aliens to overrun our borders. This is evident in the 455,000 migrants apprehended at the border in the 1st quarter of 2019 alone, which is almost double the amount of 245,000 from the same period in 2018). As of 2018, there were already an estimated 225,000 illegal aliens residing in the Commonwealth, and approximately one-fourth of those illegal aliens are receiving some type of government assistance.

An April 16th report from the Dept. of Homeland Security cites the major “pull factor” for illegal immigration is the current practice of not detaining, but instead releasing most illegal immigrant families who bring a child with them with nothing more than a “Notice to Appear” for their removal proceedings, which can take up to 2 years to adjudicate in most instances. There has been an uptick in individuals trying to cross the border with unrelated minors in an attempt to receive this favorable treatment. By turning Massachusetts into a sanctuary state we will only be further encouraging illegal aliens to migrate here once they have broken our federal laws.

Proponents of open borders like to try to frame the issue as a “refugee crisis” and that the people coming over the border are not illegal aliens, but rather “asylum seekers.” While that may be true in some instances and makes for a nice political narrative, the facts tell a different story overall. Only one-half of aliens make credible claims for asylum, and only 12 out of 100 immigrants will actually be granted asylum. This is because most people aren’t true asylum seekers but are simply coming to America in search of better living conditions. A recent survey showed that just less than half of Guatemalan’s surveyed would like to come to the United States for two primary reasons: (1) lack of unemployment and poverty; and (2) family reunification, neither of which are grounds for asylum.

The results of this insanity are that we now have over 11 million illegal aliens living in the United States many of them receiving federal benefits in one form or another, either directly or indirectly. At an estimated cost of $150,000 per migrant over their lifetime, these 11 million illegal immigrants equate to over $1.5 Trillion in costs shoveled onto the back of American taxpayers, for generations to come. The United States is the greatest and richest country in the world, of course people want to come here and benefit from the prosperity created by our free-market system, but that doesn’t mean they have a right to, nor do we have an infinite amount of resources to support everyone.

Did you know that 51% of immigrant-headed households in the U.S. benefit from at least one federal welfare program, compared to 30% for native-born households? The average welfare costs for immigrant households is $6,234 a year (this increases to an average of $8,251 when we segment out Central America and Mexico only). While federal law prohibits illegal immigrants from receiving federal housing subsidies, there are exceptions, one of which is mixed immigration status. If a family crosses the border illegally and has a child within the borders of the United States the entire family may now be eligible for federal housing subsidies. As of May 2019 there were upwards of 25,000 households with non-eligible family members receiving subsidized housing benefits. There are currently millions of American citizens on the waiting list for HUD benefits who are being slighted in favor of illegal immigrants. What about food? Massachusetts alone currently has over 167,000 resident children who don’t have enough to eat, and the number is up to 13 million nationwide.

We are told that illegal immigrants contribute to the economy by paying taxes, however the amount paid does not come close to enough to cover the resources they consume. It is estimated that illegal immigrants pay roughly $19-20 Million annually in federal taxes, through the use of stolen social security numbers. Just in the 8 years of the Obama administration an estimated 39 million social security numbers were stolen from American citizens. Once again open borders proponents are advocating for the breaking of our laws to support their position – identity fraud is kosher as long as they are paying taxes seems to be the argument. Aside from the stolen social security numbers, there’s the problem of “remittances.” Remittances are when someone sends money from the U.S. back to their home country. In 2018 Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador received a total of $17 Billion in untaxed remittances, and for El Salvador this equated to roughly 20% of their annual GDP! That’s $17 Billion funneled out of the U.S. economy, above and beyond all the other costs mentioned.

But wait, don’t these illegal aliens help fill a “labor shortage” and contribute to the US economy as the open borders crowd likes to remind us? Jason Richwine put it well in a piece he wrote for the Center for Immigration Studies where he stated, “when employers complain of a ‘shortage,’ they really mean a shortage of people willing to work for the (low) wage that employers would like to pay.” So, the argument goes, we need to fill jobs with immigrants (legal and illegal) because there are no Americans to fill those jobs. Really?!? There are nearly 35 million less skilled working-age Americans out there with no college degree, who are not in jail, and are unemployed – perhaps they could fill those jobs if given the opportunity and a reasonable wage? The better outcome here would be to allow the market to force wages up, but by giving these jobs to immigrants willing to work for less, wage growth in the United States remains stagnant. Fun fact, according to the Pew Research Center, in real terms average hourly earnings have the same purchasing power as they did in 1978, which means they peaked 45 years ago!

Then there are all the other indirect costs: job displacement costs, wage stagnation, increased burden on schools for non-English speaking students, increased emergency room visits, the 60,000 criminal illegal aliens currently in federal custody, or the estimated 179,040 at-large illegal immigrants with active deportation orders who have been convicted of other crimes. The total cost of illegal immigration is estimated to be over $100 Billion per year, but the true cost of illegal immigration is almost impossible to ascertain because illegal aliens live in the shadows, which makes their contributions to society and drain on government resources unknown.

We are a nation built on immigration and we need to encourage continued legal immigration into the United States, it greatly benefits society and has made us the nation we are today. However, Calvin Coolidge once famously said, “Our government owes its first duty to our own people.” Instead of feeding, employing and housing the 11 million illegal immigrants currently within our borders, maybe we should focus our time and energy on feeding the 13 million starving children, employing the 35 million unemployed less-skilled workers, and providing housing for the millions of homeless American citizens, first. If Cher and President Trump can agree that feeding, employing and housing U.S. citizens is a top priority, surely the rest of us can come together pressure our lawmakers to enact common sense immigration legislation.

Please contact your elected officials and let them know you oppose enactment of the Safe Communities Act, sponsored by Senator Eldridge (SD.1596) and Representative Matías (HD.3052).