Underlying Issues Regarding the Enforcement of U.S. Immigration Policies
Many problems are associated with the proposed immigration policies that are being drafted or enforced by the Donald Trump administration (Rodriguez & Dawkins, 2017). Agencies that are at the forefront of implementing and enforcing the anti-immigrant policies are forced to adjust their methods of discharging their duties to comply with the federal government directives. One problem that law enforcement agencies, which are at the forefront of enforcing the new immigration laws, face challenges such as limited availability of resources, lack of cooperation from members of some communities, legal problems caused by increased incidences of racial bias/profiling, among other challenges.
To increase the amount of funds available for enforcing immigration policies, some jurisdictions in the U.S. have turned to raise property taxes while some are utilizing funds in their emergency kitties. Also, there has been a spike in the number of crimes/abuse against people presumed to be in the country illegally based on their racial identity, religious affiliation, ethnic background or even those who are considered to be on the opposite side of the debate as to the perpetrators (Felter, Cheatham & Renwick, 2020). These cases are overwhelming for law enforcement agencies who are operating on low budgets. It is also worth mentioning that some law enforcement officers are also biased in their operations of enforcing the immigration policies.
The issue of inadequate funding is economical, as well as a political issue. The united states congress regulates the amount of budget allocated to agencies dealing with the immigration issue. Counties that are not committed to enforcing the Trump administration’s immigration policies are also reluctant to allocate more resources to enforcement bodies in their jurisdictions due to political issues. Racial profiling has the potential to incite violence or abuse against immigrants is also a social issue as well as a political issue. There are communities located along the U.S. borders that are more accommodative to immigrants, while others are not (Rodriguez & Dawkins, 2017). The issues underlying immigration and border security are all linked to political, economic, or social matters.
The approaches taken by law enforcement bodies to address the challenges they are facing in enforcing immigration policies are neither adequate nor effective. Cases of violence against immigrants based on racial profiling have increased despite disciplinary measures taken against perpetrators. Despite training, law enforcement officers are continually relying on racial profiling and stereotyping (Rodriguez & Dawkins, 2017). This compounded by strained resources has increased the severity of the challenges.
References
Felter, C., Cheatham, A., & Renwick, D. (2020). The U.S. Immigration Debate. Retrieved 8 June 2020, from https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-immigration-debate-0
Rodriguez, F. A., & Dawkins, M. (2017). Undocumented Latino youth: migration experiences and the challenges of integrating into American society. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 18(2), 419-438.