Read immigration legislation before you start opposing it

In today’s political environment, the facts are almost always swept away by the tidal waves of misinformation and false rhetoric. By inundating the public with falsehoods, outside groups hope that the general public will accept them as genuine and not bother to verify on their own and accept the false narratives. Senate Bill 1, currently referred to as the “anti-immigrant bill,” is an example of this phenomenon.

Senate Bill 1 was crafted to prevent city and county governments from adopting ordinances and policies that prohibit local law enforcement from cooperating with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The very idea that a local government would legally prohibit cooperation with a federal law enforcement agency is frightening in of itself. Just imagine the outcry if Louisville enacted an ordinance prohibiting officials from cooperating with the Drug Enforcement Agency. What would the public reaction be if Lexington City Council voted to no longer allow the police to cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security and share information on terrorism?

Contrary to the tsunami of false rhetoric, Senate Bill 1 does not require local law enforcement to work with immigration authorities, it does not allow local law enforcement to conduct raids and roundups of undocumented immigrants, and it does not allow local law enforcement to stop people for no reason and demand to “see their papers”.

As I watched the committee hearing on Senate Bill 1 and the testimonies, I found myself asking “have you even read the bill”? The DACA recipient stories were eloquent and well meaning, but completely devoid of the facts.

Nothing in Senate Bill 1 impacts DACA recipients. Nothing in Senate Bill 1 will lead to the deportation of their family members yet that is the fear that’s been instilled in them by the bills opponents. Other opponents spoke of the impact on public health if undocumented immigrants no longer went to the local health clinics out of fear of deportation. Again, “have you read the bill”? Senate Bill 1 specifically exempts health departments, rape crisis centers, children advocacy centers, and other social service providers. Each of them can adopt policies that prohibit cooperation with immigration enforcement officials if they believe it better serves the community.

Another argument by opponents of Senate Bill 1 is that undocumented immigrants will be afraid to report crimes and become victimized. What you won’t hear them talk about are U-visas that were created to give legal status to those here illegally and were victims of crime. These visas are intended to strengthen the ability of local law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking of aliens and other crimes, while also protecting victims of crimes who are willing to help law enforcement authorities in the investigation or prosecution of the criminal activity. During the past four years, over 70,000 U-visas have been issued to undocumented crime victims and their families giving them legal status to reside in the United States without fear of deportation. This should encourage victims of crime to come forward and work with law enforcement, not discourage it.

Finally, Immigration and Custom Enforcement has just 20,000 employees, only half of whom are dedicated to the apprehension and removal of undocumented immigrants. The cooperation of state and local law enforcement, which number about 800,000 is vital to ferreting out those among us who wish to cause us harm. At least five of the 9/11 hijackers were undocumented immigrants, four of whom came into contact with state and local law enforcement several times before the attacks. If those state and local law enforcement officers had worked with federal immigration officials, the 9/11 terrorist plot might have been thwarted. Adopting ordinances expressly prohibiting them from working with immigration officials is unfathomable and dangerous.

If you want the facts and not the rhetoric, go to the source and read the bill for yourself and make up your own mind rather than have it made up for you by those that have a self-serving interest.

Ronald J Vissing is a Lexington business owner and political activist. He can be contacted at RJVissing@TWC.com.

This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 11:07 AM.