Letter: Bristol’s immigration vote a ‘dangerous first step’

Posted 4/24/17

To the editor,


I am writing in regards recent vote changing Bristol’s stance on illegal immigration and enforcement of federal immigration laws. As a legal immigrant myself, I know the …

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Letter: Bristol’s immigration vote a ‘dangerous first step’

Posted

To the editor,


I am writing in regards recent vote changing Bristol’s stance on illegal immigration and enforcement of federal immigration laws. As a legal immigrant myself, I know the importance of having a compassionate and humane policy that gives people the opportunity to make Rhode Island their home.

That said, I am shocked and disappointed at the town council recent vote on the matter. As last week’s Phoenix article stated, the Town Council unanimously passed a resolution stating that no town employee or elected official will report an individual based on their immigration status — even if illegal.

Although the resolution did stop short of an ACLU ordinance that would have declared Bristol a “sanctuary” town, what was passed is a dangerous first step down a slippery slope.

By definition, a “sanctuary” town limits cooperation with the national government in order to let illegal aliens avoid deportation. Municipal policies typically include barring police or city employees from questioning people about their immigration status and refusing requests by federal immigration authorities to detain people beyond their release date if jailed for breaking local law.

Leaders of sanctuary communities do this to reduce the fear of deportation and possible family break-up, and encourage residents to use taxpayer-funded health/social services, and enroll their children in school.

A local example of sanctuary city is Providence. Under Mayor Elorza, city policy prohibits police from arresting a person based on their immigration status, and does not alert ICE to civil infractions. This means when an illegal alien in Providence is cited for a minor infraction, the city does not force them to be fingerprinted — ensuring ICE has little chance of finding out an undocumented person has been accused of the crime.

This raises the stakes for Bristol residents and Rhode Islanders on two main fronts: government spending and public safety.

On government spending, the Federation for American Immigration Reform estimates that Rhode Island in 2010 was home to an estimated 35,000 unlawful immigrants. This breaks down to annual illegal immigration expenses including: $186.07 million for education; $49.96 million for social assistance; $21.8 million for justice-related costs; and $20.25 million for other expenses. Bristol’s new policy will only encourage more illegals to take advantage of services our tax dollars pay for. This translates into higher taxes across the town and state.

Concerning crime, illegal immigration also can make a community more dangerous. According to a study by the Boston Globe that reviewed 323 criminals released in New England from 2008 to 2012, as many as 30 percent committed new offenses. This rate was much higher than ICE officials suggested to Congress in the past.

Furthermore, Bristol County, Mass., Sheriff Hodgson said in a recent interview that he was disappointed to hear several local leaders in Boston and Providence, including Elorza, promoting sanctuary policies.

Where does that leave Bristol? On potentially the same bad road as Providence. I believe in a system that welcomes new immigrants — as long as they respect our laws and go through the proper channels through green cards, work visas and full legal citizenship. What Bristol has done is promote a policy of lawlessness at the expense of taxpayers and legal residents.

Antonio (Tony) Avila
Bristol

Bristol Town Council, immigration law, sanctuary city

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