Crime

Sanctuary Cities Undermined by Police Officers Working with ICE

WASHINGTON INFORMER — New Mexico, California, Philadelphia, Chicago. These are some of the city, county and state governments that have attempted to protect immigrants from local law enforcement working with immigration authorities by becoming “sanctuary” locations.

Published

7 years ago

March 22, 2019

Oakland Post

By Katherine Lewin, Special to The Informer via DiversityInc

New Mexico, California, Philadelphia, Chicago. These are some of the city, county and state governments that have attempted to protect immigrants from local law enforcement working with immigration authorities by becoming “sanctuary” locations.

These sanctuary cities are meant to protect immigrants from a myriad of injustices, including holding people in jail on local charges past their release date at the request of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers who want to pick them up for deportation.

Last month, leaders of Bernalillo County, New Mexico’s largest county, learned that the sanctuary policy was being disobeyed from inside the jail.

Staff at the Bernalillo County jail in Albuquerque were letting ICE officers use its database and informing them when a “person of interest” was being released. Staff members let immigration officers walk into the private areas of the jail and even use the county computers to look up names, birthplaces and addresses. No staff member has been disciplined.

Bernalillo County is not the only sanctuary having this problem. Immigration officials have informal relationships with local police. The American Civil Liberties Union reported that a detective in Orange County, California, regularly looked up license plate information for an immigration officer.

While the immigration officers say that sanctuary cities make the streets less safe, studies have shown that the majority of immigrants follow the laws and commit less crime than native-born Americans.

However, unauthorized immigrants make up less than four percent of the total U.S. population and make up less than six percent of the total US prison population. State-based studies have also shown that immigrants are both much more likely to be targeted and convicted of a crime but commit far less crime than native-born Americans.

A study by the Cato Institute, which uses figures from Texas in 2015 as a case study to look at how crime rates compare among immigrant and native-born populations, showed that the rate per 100,000 residents in each subpopulation was 899 for undocumented immigrants, 611 for legal immigrants and 1,797 for native-born Americans.

“As a percentage of their respective populations, there were 56 percent fewer criminal convictions of illegal immigrants than of native-born Americans in Texas in 2015,” author Alex Nowrasteh wrote in the study. “The criminal conviction rate for legal immigrants was about 85 percent below the native-born rate.” The data shows similar patterns for violent crimes such as homicide and property crimes such as larceny.

Another study, published in March 2018 in the journal Criminology, looked at population-level crime rates to see if places with more undocumented immigrants have higher rates of crime. The answer: no.

States with more undocumented immigrants tended to have lower crime rates than states with smaller shares in the years 1990 through 2014.

“Increases in the undocumented immigrant population within states are associated with significant decreases in the prevalence of violence,” the study found.

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Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

Published

4 days ago

July 5, 2026

Oakland Post

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NPRC Joins National Grand Jury Proceedings Seeking Accountability, Constitutional Restoration

Organizers state that testimony will explore historical and political developments that they believe have contributed to the expansion of corporate influence over public institutions and governmental decision-making. Participants are expected to discuss concerns regarding constitutional governance, individual liberties, property rights, and the protection of vulnerable populations, including seniors and persons with disabilities.

Published

2 weeks ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

Photo by Billie Powers.

Special to The Post

The National Probate Reform Coalition (NPRC) has joined Toll and Roll and a growing coalition of advocacy organizations, victims, whistleblowers, and citizen groups in support of a nationally broadcast People’s Grand Jury proceeding scheduled for July 1 and July 7.

Organizers describe the event as a public forum designed to examine allegations of government abuse, judicial misconduct, legislative failures, and the erosion of constitutional protections affecting millions of Americans.

The proceedings will feature testimony from victims, families, advocates, and organizations from across the country who contend they have experienced harm through government actions, institutional neglect, and failures of oversight.

According to organizers, the People’s Grand Jury will focus on concerns involving probate courts, guardianships, conservatorships, child welfare systems, property rights, civil liberties, and what participants view as a growing disconnect between government institutions and the constitutional rights of the people they are sworn to serve.

NPRC is participating because many of the issues being examined mirror the concerns raised by advocates, victims, and families who have participated in its monthly town halls. For years, families have reported cases involving exploitation of elders, questionable guardianships, estate depletion, denial of due process, and a lack of meaningful oversight within probate court systems.

“This proceeding gives victims and advocates an opportunity to place their experiences on the public record,” said Tanya Dennis, lead facilitator of NPRC. “For too long, families have struggled to have their voices heard regarding elder abuse, probate exploitation, and government inaction. This forum allows those stories to be shared before a national audience.”

In keeping with principles of transparency and fairness, invitations have been extended to legislators, members of the judiciary, law enforcement representatives, and other public officials who may wish to respond to concerns raised during the proceedings or defend actions taken by their respective institutions.

One of the primary outcomes sought by organizers is public consideration and support for the People’s Remedy and Restoration Act, a proposed legislative framework that advocates believe would strengthen oversight, increase accountability, provide remedies for victims of governmental abuse, and restore constitutional protections.

The proceedings are expected to be broadcast nationally, providing citizens throughout the United States an opportunity to observe testimony, review evidence presented, and participate in an ongoing conversation regarding government accountability and the protection of individual rights.

Advocates hope the hearings will encourage meaningful dialogue, legislative reform, and renewed public engagement in the democratic process.

Individuals, organizations, public officials, and members of the media interested in attending or obtaining access information may contact the organizers at tollandroll2025@gmail.com.

As Americans continue to debate the future of constitutional governance, judicial accountability, and the protection of vulnerable citizens, the July proceedings are expected to serve as a significant forum for public testimony and civic engagement. For more information, go to https://tollandroll.com