This article, originally published by Al Zucaro on BocaWatch.org, is preserved for historical purposes by Massive Impressions Online Marketing in Boca Raton.
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Publisher’s note:
Three weeks ago, Palm Beach County’s largest city unanimously declared West Palm Beach a “Welcoming City” prohibiting city employees from assisting Federal Law Enforcers in deportation matters unless specifically required to by state or federal law or courts. The W.P. B. resolution, not a city law but a policy statement, passed after more than an hour of public comment in a commission chambers packed mostly with supporters but also with some pointed opposition. (See Palm Beach Post, Thursday March 30, 2017 by Tony Doris – Staff Writer) This action by West Palm Beach follows similar policies demonstrated by the Palm Beach County Sherriff’s Department, the Palm Beach County School Board and other municipalities. Presented below is a comment for Boca Raton residents and elected officials to consider. Author Allan Ward is a firm voice in opposition to the WPB policy direction and warns against Boca Raton ever considering such a policy.
Al Zucaro, Publisher
People who want to establish “sanctuary” or “welcoming” cities or counties or states destroy the social compact between citizens and their governments that has existed in the U.S. for more than two-hundred years. Partisans of aiding and abetting illegal aliens offer only social destruction. When a government utterly refuses to protect its citizens to become an agency of extortion, it loses its legitimacy.
Practically, as proven in Florida and elsewhere in the world, serious crime will increase. According to the U.S. Dept. of Justice in 2015, illegal aliens, who are 3.5%% of the U.S. population, commit 12% of the murders, 16% of the drug trafficking and 20% of the kidnappings. Robbery and rape, gratuitous drive-by shootings and anonymous knifings, and molestation and murder, will characterize the South Florida culture even more.
Boca Raton will not keep its immunity from it. Drug gangs will operate more freely and continue to corrupt neighborhoods and the legal system. The governments of existing “sanctuary” cities have made no effective changes in their enforcement or behavior even after repeated violent crimes against innocent citizens.
People have wisely responded by arming themselves against crime because they recognize that they have final responsibility to protect themselves. Governments have not performed their fundamental duty to maintain a safe society. “No-go” zones exist in various cities in the United States and Europe. Citizens pay taxes for a government that represents them, not one that extorts their money just to spend it on office-holders’ particular welfare programs to aid and enable illegal aliens who do not legally belong here.
Historically, private charity has proven overwhelmingly effective in helping people improve their lives—not the plantation system of government welfare. Instead of aiding and enabling lawbreakers and criminals, government should protect citizens not by subsidizing illegal aliens but by requiring employers to use E-verify to prove new employees’ legal eligibility for employment.
Moreover, with the federal government now oriented to enforce existing law, some federal funding for local governments and programs will be at risk in ‘sanctuary’ and ’welcoming’ cities. Ultimately, this will be good for reducing the growth and grasp of government, but in the near-term, these governments will find that tightening is tough and beneficiaries and friends in patronage jobs will scream and throw tantrums. Failing newspapers will ‘expose the misery’ to try to recover readers, but the money spigot will shrink for sanctuary cities, counties, and states. Street theater will not bring it back.
Illegal alien partisans may have convinced themselves that they hold some type of H. D. Thoreau conscientious objection philosophy of the 1840’s, but they err. (H.D. Thoreau spent his night in jail, his friend Ralph Waldo Emerson paid Thoreau’s tax, and Thoreau then got out of jail.) Their presumed moral superiority only exhibits their arrogance that reveals their moral inferiority. Current proponents of “sanctuary” and “welcoming” cities actually hold to an anarchist variant of John C. Calhoun’s Nullification Theory of the Constitution of the late 1820’s and 1830’s by adding municipal sovereignty. Calhoun’s theory claimed that a state has the right to nullify and invalidate any federal law that the state deems unconstitutional; thus, he asserted that the individual states had the final sovereignty to determine the limit of the power of the federal government. The 1861-1865 War fought over this issue ended with a convincing victory by the U.S. government over the eleven states that had seceded to form a Confederacy. That military victory settled the federal supremacy issue in favor of the federal government until present arguments revived the issue. The Confederate flag represented the nullification losers.
Marijuana proponents hold similar views, and only federal non-enforcement of its laws enables the current creeping de-criminalization of it.
The federal government assumes primary enforcement of immigration law, and federal supremacy always preempts state and local laws. Federal force has repeatedly overwhelmed attempts at local sovereignty. Partisans of illegal aliens who propose “sanctuary” and “welcoming” local jurisdictions to protect them from federal enforcement only encourage law-breaking, anarchy, and disrespect for the entire concept of law and a civil society based on law. City and county officeholders cannot pick and choose which laws to enforce depending on their temperaments and feelings. Local government officials need to perform their Constitutional duties as elected and employed—and not substitute their personal ideologies for the law.
Unlike Palm Beach County’s largest city, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton has not, nor does it seem likely to, adopted a ‘sanctuary’ or ‘welcoming’ city policy. For all the suggested reasons above, this is good thing for the residents of Boca Raton.
Sanctuary cities are patently absurd. Drug gangs are already operating in Palm Beach County–we don’t need to invite them. Illegal aliens are already involved in the greatest tax fraud in US history. If you are a real estate investor under FIRPTA you need to pay backup withholding but if you are a drug dealer or working under the table for cash (as in taking US jobs away) you need only swing by to the nearest Publix and do a money transfer by Western Union to Mexico! We all see this happening before our eyes! It’s so absurd! No taxes, no paperwork, nothing. What is even funnier is that these folks are avoiding Mexican taxes as well! Did you know that $24 billion–yes billion dollars per quarter is transferred this way to Mexico! All why we pay taxes for local schools to educate illegals and “in state” tuition for college. Its crazy how we run this country.
I completely agree. Practically every day we read stories of crimes, terrorism or not, being committed in nations and cities all over the world by illegal immigrants. What do these nations and cities have in common? Open borders. Until we develop a foolproof system of determining which immigrant will contribute to society and which would do us harm, we must for our own protection teject the very notion of making Boca Raton a sanctuary city.
Great article…As usual Allan is right on …
Thanks Alan… I agree with you 2000%. I’d venture to say your leaving the mental institution of California and watching its complete ruin had an effect on you? It’s a shame that once beautiful state is failing it’s citizens and falling into anarchy.
If we are truly interested in analyzing the effect of crime in sanctuary cities, a good place to start is the recent analysis of FBI crime data as compiled by Professor Tom Wong of the University of California at San Diego. That report indicates that the counties designated by ICE as “sanctuary areas” experienced significantly lower rates of all types of crime, including homicide rates, than comparable non-sanctuary counties. For example, large central metro sanctuary counties had 65.4% crimes fewer than non-sanctuary counties. Moreover, the Major Cities Chiefs Association (representing 63 largest urban areas of the U.S.), has stated that “immigration enforcement should not be involved in immigration enforcement” as it would, among other reasons, eliminate the potential for assistance from solving crimes or preventing future terrorist acts.” The International Association of Chiefs of Police has taken a similar view. While I am not advocating the position that should be taken by Boca Raton, reasonable judgment calls for examination of facts.
Correction one a typo in my comment. The statement from the Major Chiefs Association should state “local law enforcement should not be involved in immigration enforcement.”
But this is a great sleight of hand. Lets see if you understand what is said, vs. what is implied.
ICE Agrees. They do NOT want them GOING OUT and BRINGING IN Illegals. We all agree.
ICE Simply wants anyone who is already in custody, that ICE Sends a message to “Hey, hold that guy, we will be there tomorrow to pick him up”. they expect the police to hold the person! Is that too much to ask? Not catch the person, he was usually caught for another reason. The person of interest is in custody. Abide by the retainer.
When you put this reply here. Were you aware of the difference between “Doing ICEs job” and “holding on to someone who is already in custody”??? (I am finding many people do NOT realize this is ALL a Detainer does. It asks them to continue to detain them, until ICE can collect them).
It is that detainer they are ignoring. And if I was President Trump, I would create a full time judge who would simply convert Detainers to Warrants. Because if it is a warrant, and they let the person out of their custody, they go to jail.
Another phony dishonest media style report and “analysis” set forth by a California university. This is the type of stupidity that uneducated Americans fall for and the liberal pundits like Les promote. The problem with his report is that it uses wide geographical areas to create an intended result of diluting crime stats. So let’s use logic. If we start with a pool of people that commit crimes and we say that 30% of crimes are committed by illegals and 70% are committed by citizens, Les will tell you that illegals commit less crimes pro-rata than citizens. Here is the facts IF THE ILLEGALS WERE NOT HERE THERE WOULD BE 30% LESS CRIME! Simple logic. All the federal government is asking is to hold people who are in the system as being charged or having already committed crimes! What possible reason is there to not do that–None! What the average citizen does not know is that if you get apprehended for a felony the government knows where to find you, if you are an illegal with false ID who is not in the system they catch you and a few days later they simply let you go! That is why you have people roaming around with 5-6 charges. When Les has his family member killed by a drunk illegal or murdered he will change his tune, maybe become another Emily Slosberg. I worked in counter-drug operations in military in this AOR I can tell you that there are dangerous people in this very area who will shoot you dead in the street and the majority of them are MS-13 ILLEGAL ALIEN GANG MEMBERS whom the City of West Palm Beach appear to want to simply let go because after all we can’t separate these folks from their families.
I am really tired of conflating Sanctuary Cities. Juan Williams properly says that “Rudy Giuliani created Sanctuary Cities and helped cleanup New York”. But he Fails to mention that there is Conflation here. There are 2 types of Sanctuary Cities. Let’s clarify:
Compassionate Sanctuary Cities, which are ones in which people who call 911, or are helping the police, or answering other police questions, WILL NOT be asked if they are illegally here, and we will IGNORE their status, in order to help SERVE The community. This is done to prevent these people from being FORCED into victim status.
Criminal Sanctuary Cities are what California's San Francisco strive to be. These are cities that started out "Compassionate" towards those reporting crimes, but then carried it forward to protecting Illegals from the FEDERAL government who is doing their job to deport these people.
Again, the Media conflates these two OBVISOULY different standards. One is flaunting the law to allow CRIMINALS to roam free. The other is simply cutting some slack for NON-CRIMINALS who report crimes in order to earn their trust and cooperation, and to reduce their potential for victimhood.
The key difference is that Criminal Sanctuary Cities are ACTIVELY blocking the ability of the Federal Government to do their job, and adding to the problem. Therefore making the cities far less safe than a Compassionate Sanctuary City would.
You can probably guess which one I am okay with!
Again, we must demand our media use more exact words. This constant conflation of ideas is insane. I would propose that 90% of Americans are okay with Compassionate Sanctuary Cities, and that only about 20-30% are okay with Criminal Sanctuary Cities. I would love to see a Rasmussen poll on this!!! Don’t hold your breath, as the main stream media has no incentive to
clarify the problem because they support Criminal Sanctuary Cities. This is what it means to be the opposition party to the current President.
Thanks for the clarification. Your points are well taken, but I do not believe that, as a whole, legitimate news organizations refuse to clarify problems due to personal positions that they may hold. I realize that President Trump claims otherwise, but that may be due to the journalists’ questions that cause the President discomfort.
Does MSM ever point out these differences?
Even better, does MSM use Illegal Alien or Undocumented? The first is the lawfully defined term. It implies their status is that they are here Illegally. Where Undocumented implies simply someone without documented proof of how they came to be here.
Trust me, the media chooses their language with purpose. Also, you may be right about the individual reports, but keep in mind, most media has editors, who force edits to stories, to fit the companies goal and profiles. Didn’t Sheryl Atkinson leave a company because they were only welcoming of stories critical of Bush, but shelved every story that was critical of Obama.
I would love to hear of a MSM source not conflating Compassionate Sanctuary Cities with Criminal Sanctuary Cities.
Allen Ward’s article is short on data and long on alarmist rhetoric. Moreover, the data he presents on crime rates among illegal immigrants could just as easily be used to support sanctuary strategies. The fact that illegals may pose a higher risk of crime makes it all the more important that police establish good relations with the communities where they are likely to live. Most large city police chiefs agree and support the sanctuary concept. However, the biggest problem with Mr. Ward’s polemic is in the data that he does not present. As reader Auerbach correctly points out, sanctuary cities actually have lower crime rates than non-sanctuary cities. There is evidence that the strategy is working!
If Boca Raton ever does consider becoming a sanctuary city I hope that Boca Watch will revert to its traditional role of presenting factually based information to assist in the debate.
I was very disappointed to read this article. The overwhelming research shows that illegal immigrants do not increase crime. Sanctuary Cities actually prevent crime because it allows illegal immigrants to safely report crimes without getting arrested. It is sad that Boca Raton does not follow our neighbors’ lead to protect families. Also, a court just found that Trump’s sanctuary city executive order was not legal: http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/25/politics/sanctuary-cities-injunction/index.html.
Yet, 20% of our federal prison inmates are illegals. Also, when sanctuary cities do NOT arrest criminals and turn them over, how can you trust the reporting of crimes? Chicago is clearly a Criminal Sanctuary City, but I would hardly use it as a low-crime example.
Finally, what percentage of Compassionate Sanctuary Cities were used in the study? Again, if they do not differentiate, this is just like saying IMMIGRANTS commit less crime. This is TOTALLY true. But Immigrants literally implies Legal Immigrants. Illegal Aliens consistent commit more crimes than legal Immigrants. when they report studies of crime, the tend to normalize based on income levels for the comparisons.
These courts will find the constitution is not legal, activist judges have to go!
Completely false narrative. I don’t care if illegals report crime nor does anyone else. has anyone ever asked you if you are a citizen when you call the police–no one does! Abject stupidity.
Alan: Do you have a link or other source for the statistics you mention? Thanks
Lets play a thought game. Lets pretend Boca Raton became a Criminal Sanctuary City.
Would it encourage more criminal illegals to reside here? (yes)
When these people come and reside here, how will they pay their bills? (Crime. Working Illegally, Working with Identity Theft Papers, or gaining Legal Employment)??? Break it down by a percentage? How do you work here LEGALLY if you live here ILLEGALLY?
Finally, will they require assistance? Will their kids get free lunches? Will their children need translators in school?
(lets assume they don’t, because they somehow make enough money).
Do we not have MORE CRIME, by definition? We have attracted more criminals. And they typically work under the table. Which takes away a real job for a real citizen, and usually the poorest of our citizens who need the job even more. And who would be paying taxes… I promise you 100% of illegals are not working here and paying their fair share of taxes. Those that do, can actually claim the dependents they have back home, in another country, and get a huge tax break, often meaning they pay not taxes.
What’s the upside here? We encourage more of them to come?
The crime statistics were reported in 2015, but were actually from the 2014 U.S. government fiscal year. Thus, the date in the essay was inaccurate. For that I apologize.
A link reporting these statistics is: http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/07/07/illegal-immigrants-accounted-for-nearly-37-percent-of-federal-sentences-in-fy-2014/. When I first heard about these statistics I was surprised not at the level, but at their existence because the Obama administration tried to bury all illegal alien statistics. Most statistics about illegal alien crime come from different states and prison records.
I never used the term “immigrant” in my essay. That is another distinct topic.
“Most large city police chiefs” are appointed creatures of Democrats and they parrot Democrat Party boilerplate. Elected Sheriff David Clarke distinguishes himself by not following those partisan lies. Police on the beat know differently from their social-climbing, politically-appointed chiefs. That “sanctuary cities actually have lower crime rates than non-sanctuary cities” is a big lie. When crime may not be reported for various reasons, government bureaucrats and politicians happily assume that it does not exist. Willful denial does not change reality; it just distorts perception.
Locally, I doubt that Lake Worth has a lower crime rate than Boca Raton.
This article is a great example of our country going mad…
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-immigration-arrest-20170425-story.html
Here we have someone here ILLEGALLY. Her husband clearly involved in drugs, $600,000.00 cash and 30 lbs of Cocaine.
Where she is staying.
And these AMERICANS are protesting her getting deported?
First, the BEST you can assume is the husband is the GUILTY as sin, and she was clueless as to what he was doing to make a living. AND here ILLEGALLY. And BENEFITING from illegal activity.
No crimes with these illegals… Just the kind of Dreamers we want in Boca!