Houston police want to question immigration status

Houston Chronicle:

Houston’s largest police union, frustrated by the shootings of two officers by illegal immigrants, wants an end to the department’s 17-year-old policy of not questioning residents about their immigration status.

Such a change would put Houston at odds with the state’s five other major city police departments — Austin, El Paso, Fort Worth, Dallas and San Antonio.

Gary Blankinship, president of the Houston Police Officers Union, said the September 2006 murder of officer Rodney Johnson and the severe injuries suffered by officer Rick Salter on March 5 are reasons to toughen immigration enforcement, including an end to the policy. Both officers were shot by illegal immigrants who had been deported from Houston, but returned to commit other crimes.

“It’s a strong issue,” Blankinship said. “My guys get tired of dealing with the criminal aliens out here, and it seems like the severity of the crimes is escalating and that’s frustrating to the rank and file.”

He stressed that calls for a change in the policy are not aimed at a wholesale roundup of illegal immigrants in Houston, a population the Greater Houston Partnership estimated last year at 420,000 in the 10-county Houston metropolitan area. It would help officers to weed out dangerous criminals in the undocumented community, he said.

Frank Michel, a spokesman for Mayor Bill White, said the administration has no plans to change a policy it considers crucial to policing city neighborhoods.

“We need people to be confident in Houston police officers and have them step forward to report crime, and be willing to step forward as witnesses,” Michel said.

In the aftermath of the murder of officer Johnson, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and Houston police received federal training so jailers can access immigration computer databases to identify immigration violators.

“What the mayor has said repeatedly is the police have to focus on what they do best, solving crimes and protecting our neighborhoods,” Michel said. “He also has asked that the federal agencies in charge of enforcing immigration law get more resources, so they can do their jobs.”

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Lax immigration enforcement has resulted in more crime including crimes against Houston police officers. It appears that the policy of not asking immigration status has not resulted in better policing, but more dangerous policing. I agree with the police officers on this one.