As fears of broadening immigration enforcement sweeps have swelled in the local Latino community, U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin said this week that he thinks federal agents should be keeping their focus on “the worst offenders of our laws” and not embark on broader sweeps that could snare generally law-abiding individuals who end up in the spotlight of enforcers for minor infractions or as bystanders.
Mr. Zeldin stopped short, however, of saying there should be federal policy guidance specifically excluding any undocumented immigrants from potential deportation—including those with children born in the United States—and advised families of mixed citizenship that deportation of family members is a possibility to prepare for.
Determining where the bar should be set for targets of deportation orders will be based on the number of individuals whom officials are able to process and remove from the country, he said. Beyond that, “the stories” of each individual could be the arbiter of his or her fate.
“I do believe that priority should be on the individuals who are the worst offenders of our laws and way of life … the worst members of our community,” the congressman said this week. “The key will be what the numbers will be and what their stories are. The person who came to America 25 years ago may have a different story than the person who came six months ago. The person who clearly loves America and wants to be a productive member of society has a different story than someone who doesn’t share that passion—or the person who served time in the El Salvadoran prison system and isn’t working full-time here and committing crimes.”
But he added: “It’s very hard to differentiate one person who is in this country illegally from another. Every nation’s backbone is its rule of law. The law is, if you are here illegally, you are subject to potential removal.”
He did not specify where in the deportation process there should be room for a case-by-case review of someone’s background in a community, or how and by whom that would judged.
Some have said the most recent explanations from Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly could open the door to deporting undocumented men and women even for traffic infractions and administrative violations—a step up from recent years, when enforcement focused on felony offenders. The congressman said federal authorities should show restraint but not be hogtied.
“I don’t believe that someone should be deported on the basis of a speeding ticket—that seems like a pretty ridiculous place to draw the line,” Mr. Zeldin said. But he added: “I would encourage anyone who doesn’t want to be impacted by immigration enforcement to follow the law.”
Told of stories rising from throughout the East End of children consumed by fear their parents could be deported while they are in class, Mr. Zeldin said communities should offer support to such children—but that families with undocumented members should prepare themselves in advance for the possibility that one or more might be deported without much notice.
“Our schools and local communities should do what is in our heart to provide the maximum level of support to those children who are in an extremely difficult situation when they are thinking of how the law may impact their family,” he said. “While we are compassionate toward the plight of that child, we can’t just ignore our rule of law at the same time.
“To provide support to that child, should it mean that … every parent of a child is granted amnesty status and is immune from immigration enforcement? We still have to have a rule of law.”
on Feb 28, 2017