w w w w w w w w w w w W, w Wednesday, September 3, 2008- The Michigan Daily I 6B The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 3, 2008 BIG TALK, Ann Arbor resg illegal immigr short of j "sanctuary n an adult education course at the United Methodist Church in Yp- silanti, Spanish speakers gather twice weekly in front of volunteer teachers to practice English and learnthenuancesofAmericanculture:what to expect on Halloween, how to navigate the bus system, what to do if a police offi- cer pulls you over. "Conozco mis derechos," the teachers instruct their pupils to say during that last lesson. "I know my rights' For the county's undocumented immi- grants, whose rights are the focus of an impassioned national debate, that last les- son is tricky. Local laws and policies that either hinder or facilitate the work of U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement NO WALK By JESSICA VOSGERCHIAN MAGAZINE EDITOR mentedimmigrantslivinginAnnArbor and Washtenaw County are starting to feel it. olves to protectt ON THIN ICE ants, but falls Staying out of custody comes down to o ini n the avoiding the wrong place at the wrong time and, most importantly, knowing friend from foe. A network of activist or- city" oster ganizations like the Washtenaw County Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights have taken up the banner for undocu- mented immigrants, staging several dem- have cropped up in state and city legisla- onstrations against ICE here and in Detroit tures across the country. In the first half during summer and spring, and lobby- of 2008, 1,267 bills addressing illegal im- ing city government officials in Washt- migration have been considered in 45 enaw County to enact protective policies. state legislatures with at least 175 laws WCICIRmemberLauraSanderssaidthat and resolutions having been enacted in ICE has taken action in Washtenaw Coun- 39 states, according to the National Con- ty more than 20 times since March, and ference of State Legislatures. Some city that often several people were detained at police forces have made enforcing fed- once when the agency set out to arrest. But eral immigration law a local priority. Yet, those are just the cases that were brought several cities on both coasts and every re- to the WCICIR's attention-the ICE doesn't gion have also taken the opposite stance, record the number of arrests made in indi- becoming "sanctuary cities" by enacting vidual counties or cities. Immigration ac- policies to protect their illegal citizens. tivists, though, say ICE seems to be putting Where does uberliberal Ann Arbor fall on the heat more than ever. "My own sense on the spectrum? Not as left as you might is the right wing administration is trying to think. And with ICE zoning in, undocu- further their agenda before they're out of office" said WCICIR member Max Heirich, a former University sociology professor. ICE spokesman Gregory Palmore said in an e-mail that the federal agency has upped its efforts everywhere, and so has become more visible even in counties where the immigrant community it small. On the out- skirts of Washtenaw County, where much of the undocumented population lives in trailer parks, ICE's looming presence is like the boogey man. One day an officer might come for you. Or he might come for your friend, and take you, too. ICE of- ficers have the power to interrogate any- one about their identity and immigration status, so setting out with a deportation warrant for one person, they often end up detaining the target's companions, too. ICE's work in the county is wrapped in stories of human rights violations. Sanders said she has heard about front doors being AP PHOTO broken down and parents roughed up in front of their children. Whether fact or fear- ful rumors is hard to say; when ICE makes an arrest, Sanders said, the detainee's family and friends generally don't stick around, let alone report abuses and risk drawing ques- tions about their own immigration status. Palmore denied that violence occurs during ICE arrests. "Under ICE, you will find the most humane detention system possibly in the world" Palmore added that the agency adjusts the detainment war- rant for immigrants with children, de- taining only one parent, or in the case of a sole-caregiver, allowing the family to stay at home and ordering a notice to ap- pear in front of an immigration judge. NATIONAL STAGEi LOCAL DECISION But the personal aspects of immigration law enforcement, such as the breaking up of families, doesn't bode well with a variety of people, creating immigrant sympathiz- ers among far-left liberals and conserva- tive Christians alike. This contingency's views are reflected in the more than 20 sanctuary cities with municipal policies that flaunt federal law and extend citi- zen rights to undocumented immigrants. While Congress continues to vacillate between immigration reform and tighter regulation, state and municipal govern- ments have skirted a lack of federal di- rection by enacting laws that make clear where they stand on the issue. Dallas and Detroit, Los Angeles and Jersey City, all have ordinances banning city employ- ees and police from asking about immi- gration status or collaborating with ICE. Yale University's New Haven endorses COURTESY OF WCICIR naturalization by providing municipal ID cards regardless of immigration status. But uber-liberalAnn Arbor, where many undoc- umented immigrantswork, is conspicuously missing from the list of sanctuary cities. In- stead, Ann Arbor's policies are vaguely non- committal to supporting immigrant inter- ests, and leave the door open to a crackdown. In the wake of the 9-11 attacks and en- actment of the Patriot Act, Ann Arbor City Council approved a civil liberties resolution in 2003 opposing federal legislation that broadened federal agencies' investigation powers as a violation of civil liberties. Not le- gaily binding, the resolution is still seen as a stride forwardbyWICIRmemberswhohave urged other city governments in the county to adopt something similar, Snyder said. The resolution, which rails against solici- tation of library records and racial profiling, contains strong language in support of the city's immigrant community: "WHEREAS, The Ann Arbor Police Department has un- dertaken numerous efforts to build police and community trust in its enforcement ac- tions and the USA PATRIOT Act and its re- lated executive orders and regulations as ad- opted and implemented have the potential to drive a wedge between immigrant com- munities and the police who protect them." City Council, it says, "strongly supports the rights of immigrants and opposes measures that single out individuals for legal scru- tiny or enforcement activity based solely on their country of origin and/or religion." But for all its huff and puff about immi- grant rights, the resolution stops short of banning the Ann Arbor Police from assist- ing ICE, reneging the section in the draft originally proposed which ordered city police to "refrain from participating in the enforcement of federal immigration laws:' The resolution city council approved only discourages police involvement, say- ing that police should "continue to limit local enforcement actions with respect to immigration matters to penal violations of federal immigration law (as opposed to administrative violations) except in cas- es where the Chief of Police determines there is a legitimate public safety con- cern and in such public safety instances, to report the situation to the City Council no later than 60 days after the incident" The question of what constitutes limited enforcement arose last March when city police responded to a request from ICE of- ficers for assistance in arresting two men in a car. Ann Arbor Police then observed the ICE officers detain a man for whom they had a deportation warrant and his acquain- tance who had failed to prove his citizen- ship, AAPD Police Chief Barnett Jones said. This situation troubled members of the Interfaith Coalition, who spoke in front of city council last spring urging for a stronger resolution to fully ban city police from cooperating with ICE. The Michigan Daily reported that Mayor John Hieftje sided with Jones in agreeing that a full out ban would not be in the inter- est of the city's citizens, legal or illegal. In an interview last week, Jones said AAPD officers observe ICE arrests to as- sure the situation doesn't get violent and no human rights violations occur. "In- side of the city of Ann Arbor, police ac- tion is the responsibility of the Ann Ar- bor Police," he said. "If we are there, we can react to what happens. If we aren't there, we can't respond to what happens:" But Sanders said the presence of AAPD officers at ICE raids leads the immigrant community to associate local police with ICE, making them unwilling to report crime or solicit police protection at the cost of their own safety. Public safety is one of the reasons sanctuary cities give for prohibiting police officers from asking im- migration status. The logic goes that even if part of a city's population is illegal, any deterrence to call the police just means See IMMIGRATION, Page 11B 'a0 COURTESY OF WCICIR (ABOVE AND LEFT) Washtenaw County Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights protested the detention of illegal immigrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Liberty Plaza last spring. y0