End Immigration And Nationality Act: Gwinnett House Rep.

GWINNETT COUNTY, GA -- Gwinnett County House of Representatives Rep. Pedro Marin wrote a recent guest editorial urging that the Immigration and Nationality Act be left to expire in Gwinnett County.

Here is his editorial:

Allow me to categorically state my opposition to renewing the federal 287(g) program of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) in Gwinnett County. On June 30, 2019, the existing Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will expire. I ask the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners, other elected officials and key stakeholders to publicly support its termination. The INA’s 287(g) program does not reflect who we are as a county and who we aspire to be as a community. It is time for such practices to end.

For over 20 years, I have lived in and served the great county of Gwinnett. When I began my political career in 2002, the population was slightly less than 600,000. Today, according to the United States Census Bureau, Gwinnett County has reach nearly one million residents. This exponential growth has occurred, in no small part, due to an increase in minority and immigrant populations. In 2000, 31 percent of the county self-identified as persons of color. Now, our county is predominantly comprised of residents originating from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Pacific Islands. And, this trend is only going to increase. Based on census projections, the county will be 70 percent minority by 2035. In 35 years, the population profile of the county has changed dramatically.

Gwinnett County is a community where Christians, Muslims, Hindis, Jews, Sikhs and other faiths worship freely. Gwinnett is a place where strip malls consisting of international goods are thriving with eager shoppers, and children attend class with other students whose families arrived to the county one month ago, one year ago or one decade ago from some other part of the world. Gwinnett is a global county teeming with local pride. Application of the 287(g) program in this environment would invite racial profiling, diminution of trust towards local law enforcement, increase animosity towards people of color and erode our spirit of solidarity.

The 287(g) program empowers local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration law. Its purpose, as stated in the MOA, is to “enhance the safety and security of communities by focusing resources on identifying and processing for removal aliens who fall into ICE’s (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) civil immigration enforcement priorities.” The priorities, as outlined in a February 20, 2017 memo from then Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, are broad in their language and definition. One priority targets those who have been convicted of any criminal offense. Another priority outlined in the memo targets those who have been charged with any criminal offense that have not been resolved. This vague language could lead to actions by some law enforcement officials that constitute racial profiling. As the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Georgia correctly surmised, the program may have been well intended, but its implementation has been problematic.

The question remains as to whether this federal program positively impacts our county. First, it is a fiscal burden with no clear benefit to the county’s collective public safety and well being. From 2009 to 2016, the county paid nearly $10 million in taxpayer dollars, which includes a significant portion from minority homeowners, business owners and consumers, with little return on investment. Second, families live in a perpetual state of fear believing their relative(s) may be stopped, arrested, detained and possibly deported for innocuous violations such as driving without proper identification. Additionally, documented immigrants and American citizens of immigrant origin are more likely to be stopped, questioned and possibly detained simply because of their phenotype, surname, accent or some other racial, ethnic or cultural signifier that falsely presumes undocumented status. Finally, the public trust of local law enforcement erodes and leaves many of our residents at great risk of victimization, exploitation and abuse. Their silence allows criminals to target immigrant communities realizing their fear of deportation outweighs their fear of violence or manipulation. Public policy should never compromise our humanity or call to service.

We are a global county teeming with local pride. Gwinnett, it is time to end 287(g).

Representative Pedro “Pete” Marin represents the citizens of District 96, which includes portions of Gwinnett County. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2002 and currently serves on the Banks and Banking, Economic Development & Tourism, Industry and Labor and Science and Technology committees.