Local Law Enforcement of Immigration Laws

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a look at the problem of illegal immigration into the USA. According to the paper, recent attempts to address the issue through local enforcement may have unsuspecting consequences and a negative impact on the Latino communities.

From the Paper:

"According to critics, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 led to the legalization of vast numbers of undocumented immigrants as a means of reducing unsanctioned immigration, however its main effect was to reinforce and expand established cross-border migration networks and create a thriving business in fraudulent documents (Nevins). These unintended consequences laid the foundation for the anti-immigration backlash that eventually emerged during the 1990's, partially due to political and bureaucratic entrepreneurs who sparked public sentiment by focusing on the border as both the source of the problem and the site of policy solution (Nevins). Others argue that the backlash was not merely against illegal immigrants, but was rather directed against immigrants in general, particularly "the nonwhite, non-English speaking, and the relatively poor" (Nevins). These concerns resulted in a declaration of "war" against unauthorized immigrants which led to a short-term shift in INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) policing tactics along the Mexico-U.S. border and to the massive infusion of enforcement-related resources, such as California's Operation Gatekeeper (Nevins). "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Chen, Michelle. "New Program Gives Local Police Immigration Enforcement Tools."http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/3646
• "Fact Sheet: Local Enforcement of Immigration Law." Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights. Retrieved November 04 2006 from:http://www.energyofanation.org/a1dfaee1-9eb5-47e1-8a29-bd3d62766115.html?NodeId=
• "Immigration." National Council of La Raza. Retrieved November 04 2006 from:http://www.nclr.org/content/topics/detail/500/
• Pendleton, Gail. "Local Police Enforcement of Immigration Laws and its Effects on Victims of Domestic Violence." Retrieved November 04 2006 from:http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:aSSVcfKXEsAJ:nationalimmigrationproject.org/DVPage/DVSA_CLEAR_Article.doc+negative+impact+of+immigration+enforcement+by+local+police&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=7
• Nevins, Joseph. "Searching for Security: Boundary And Immigration Enforcement in an Age of Intensifying Globalization." Social Justice. June 22 2001. Retrieved November 04 2006 from HighBeam Research Library.

More papers on Local Law Enforcement of Immigration Laws:

• Term Paper # 99374 : "Immigration Laws"
• Analytical Essay # 129535 : "Immigration Policy"
• Research Proposal # 149968 : "Illegal Immigration Qualitative Research Proposal"

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