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Law enforcement group warns mandatory local immigration enforcement would erode trust and divert policing resources
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Summary
Major Neil Franklin, representing the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, told the House subcommittee that compelling local police to perform routine civil immigration enforcement would damage community trust, increase legal liabilities, and divert scarce resources from violent crime and domestic violence response.
Major Neil Franklin, retired law-enforcement officer and representative of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), testified before the House Judiciary subcommittee that routine civil immigration enforcement by local police would harm public safety by eroding trust in police and redirecting resources away from serious crime.
"Ordering state and local law enforcement to act as ICE agents would deeply damage police community trust," Franklin said, adding that policing depends on cooperation from victims and witnesses. He cited survey findings in his testimony: "A report on Latino perceptions of police found that 44% of Latinos hesitate to report crime to police for fear that it could lead to investigations into immigration status… even if they are legal citizens." Franklin said that damage to trust can reduce reporting and make solving crimes more difficult.
Franklin also told the committee local agencies face legal and financial risks if they hold people on ICE detainer requests. He cited a recent New York City settlement: "New York City recently agreed to a $92,500,000 settlement stemming from a lawsuit claiming authorities had detained 20,000 people for days, weeks, even months after their scheduled release date due to ICE detainer request." He warned mandatory cooperation could increase civil liability and further strain local budgets.
On resource allocation, Franklin said forcing local police to perform routine immigration work would divert time and jail space away from focusing on violent offenders and community policing priorities. "It would lead to countless people being detained for extended periods solely based upon their immigration status, wasting limited jail space that should be reserved for those who pose the most serious threats to public safety," he said.
Franklin and other witnesses urged that local jurisdictions retain discretion to craft policies tailored to their communities, and they recommended federal-state partnerships where cooperation is voluntary and supported by clear procedures rather than unilateral federal mandates. The subcommittee’s questioning showed partisan disagreement about whether federal law should require local action; no legislative votes were taken in the hearing.
