Leave local police out of deportations: Your Say

Letter edited for clarity:  

Forcing local law enforcement to comply with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers not only violates the civil rights of the people they target, it also puts police officers in an untenable position: choose between breaking a state law that mandates full cooperation with ICE and violating the Constitution (“Will local police carry out Trump's deportation orders?” Feb. 2).

The Fourth Amendment prohibits detaining someone without probable cause or a warrant supported by probable cause. ICE detainers, or requests to hold someone beyond their release date while deciding whether to take them into federal custody, fail this test. They do not amount to probable cause or go through the process of judicial review needed to justify a warrant. ICE detainers are issued by an ICE officer, not a judge.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s threats to force local law enforcement to comply with ICE detainers are fraught with far-reaching consequences. Cutting off state grants will hurt crime victims, military veterans and many others in the community. Making compliance with anti-sanctuary-city laws a precondition for receiving state funds and services is blackmailing police departments into violating the rights of the people they’re sworn to protect.

Astrid Dominguez, ACLU Texas; Houston

Facebook comments are edited for clarity and grammar: 

It's simple, if local officers don't uphold our laws, then fire them. They can't pick and choose which laws they want to enforce. These undocumented immigrants knew that they broke our laws when they crossed the border, and they should have known that the law would catch up with them. President Obama may have turned a blind eye to them, but President Trump will not.

— Timothy Allen Warwick

It seems that Obama and his administration didn't have the stomach to deport enough undocumented immigrants. The left expects Trump to follow the same pattern, and if he does not then they will use the racist label even more freely than they are using it at this time.

— Frank Elliott

There is a difference between legal and moral. The Trump administration, and indeed all our government, needs to keep that in mind. Yes, it is appropriate to deport violent criminals. But for others, especially those with family members who are U.S. citizens and those who fear for their safety if returned to their country of origin, the moral thing is to let them stay in the U.S.

— Roger Spencer

It's immoral to use resources you have no right to use. It's immoral to work under the table for a low wage and displace honest Americans in the workforce.
Build the wall. Deport them all!

— James Gazin