Detroit City Council to Police: Ignore Illegal Immigrants

Detroit has now joined the list of cities that have instructed their police forces to not do anything about illegal immigrants they may apprehend or come across.

From the Free Press:

City Council approves ordinance to prohibit the profiling of immigrants

An ordinance that bans profiling was approved Wednesday by the Detroit City Council. It prohibits police and city employees from asking about the immigration status of residents.

The council voted unanimously for the law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, dress, physical appearance and immigration status. Under the new law, police cannot ask people for their immigration papers unless it was related to a crime.

Newsflash: Being in the United States after entering illegally or overstaying a visa is a -- wait for it -- crime. Apparently immigration violations no longer exist in Detroit.

In Detroit, some immigrants complain that, after being pulled over by police, they have been asked for residency papers. Others say they are afraid to apply for city help or programs such as home-repair assistance because of their immigration status.

"It's not something a city employee should be asking," said City Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr., who introduced the bill. "It's not within their purview."

No kidding illegals should not be receiving city help or home repair assistance if they're illegal - why are law-abiding city taxpayers to pay for criminals while they are committing a crime? If they need home-repair asistance perhaps they should go home and apply from there.

The ordinance was introduced after talks with Latino, Arab and Muslim groups. The Detroit-based group Metropolitan Organizing Strategy Enabling Strength played a lead role in pushing for the law.

Nice to know the interested parties. 3 of the 19 9/11 Hijackers were on expired visas, 6 others had violated immigration laws but remained in the country - all of them would have had these infractions ignored in Detroit under this policy and thus preventing a means to prevent future incidents.

On Tuesday, Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings said she wants to make sure everyone feels comfortable contacting police when crimes are committed. In some cases, immigrants say they are reluctant to call police because they fear the police will turn them over to federal agents who could deport them.

Because that would be enforcing the law, and apparently that might make people uncomfortable.

Bully-Cummings also said the department is against profiling and that police should not generally enforce federal immigration laws.

Anyone ever hear of the Supremacy clause? Does this new approach now guarrantee Detorit police will not enforce any Federal law such as environmental, Firearms, Alcohol etc?

Dawud Walid, head of the Michigan branch of the Council of American-Islamic Relations, said he is pleased with the council's vote. "The city of Detroit should be seen as a place that is not hostile to immigrants."

Enforcement of immigration laws agaisnt illegals should not cause an issue, nor any hostility for legal immigrants, so who is Walid backing here, and why?