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In
a joint letter, 48 law enforcement heads appealed to lawmakers
to consider possibilities other than incarceration, such as
allowing families to live in the community and require heads of
households to wear ankle bracelets or receive telephone checks
while awaiting court or immigration hearings.
Police chiefs from across the geographic and political spectrum
voiced apprehension at locking up migrant families at a time
when U.S. law enforcement is trying to gain the trust of
immigrant communities.
U.S. President Donald Trump issued an order last week to end
separation of children from parents, which had occurred because
of his administration's policy of prosecuting all adults caught
entering the United States illegally. The police chiefs praised
the order.
But the zero tolerance policy remains in place and under the
order, which is likely to be challenged in court, families would
instead be detained together for the duration of immigration
proceedings, which can take months or years.
Family detention centers could radicalize young people, pushing
them toward street gangs or hate groups, said Houston police
chief Art Acevedo.
"The last thing we need to do is marginalize and disenfranchise
young people," said Acevedo, who emigrated to the United States
from Cuba as a child. "You can accomplish the safety aspect and
monitoring aspect at a fraction of the cost without having the
negative impact on kids."
Vetting of families would show most do not need to be
incarcerated as they pose no threat to the community, the group
said.
Confinement would endanger their children's physical and
emotional development, according to the active and retired
officials who included the heads of major law enforcement groups
such as Montgomery County, Maryland, police chief Tom Manger,
president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association.
Taxpayers could save millions of dollars each year through
incarceration alternatives, given the average cost of holding a
person in family detention is above $300 a day, according to the
group.
Past alternatives to immigrant detention were more than 99
percent successful in getting family members to immigration
hearings, it said.
"Local governments have been using alternatives to incarceration
for a long time," said Fresno, California, Sheriff Margaret
Mims, a Republican who runs a local jail.
(Reporting By Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Editing by Michael
Perry and Bill Trott)
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