Community trust is a law enforcement priority!

B Stands for Badges

Good afternoon,

Last month the National Immigration Forum launched a set of 2024 Immigration Principles that reflect our country’s deeply rooted values. Americans want leaders who will prioritize working together on finding solutions and passing reforms, not leaders who spread divisive rhetoric. These principles should guide all of us working toward creating an orderly, secure, and humane immigration system in the face of ongoing global and domestic challenges that require an update to America’s 38-year-old immigration policies.

Our leaders in law enforcement, national security, faith, and business sectors have long been working in their own communities to exemplify these values of trust, human dignity, security, and welcome. For example, Chief Ramon Batista of the Santa Monica, California, Police Department and co-chair of the Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force (LEITF) emphasizes the need to preserve federal leadership in setting immigration policy.

Listen to Chief of Police and LEITF co-Chair Ramon Batista (Santa Monica, CA) about the need to prioritize trust-building to ensure public safety. (Source: National Immigration Forum)

Chief Batista believes that all community members including immigrants should feel safe and that building trust is a vital component of public safety and national security. He argues that immigrants must feel secure that cooperating with local law enforcement would not lead to their deportation or that of their loved ones. Crime victims and witnesses should feel safe to come forward. Chief Batista also highlights that to achieve safety at the border, the immigration system needs to protect all of us, respect the law, and ensure human dignity.

Congress should lead the way to fix the current broken immigration system while local law enforcement focusses their limited resources on responding to community needs. Reforms to create pathways for long term undocumented residents to get right with the law will benefit all of us, Chief Batista advocates. Because when immigrants feel safe in their communities, everyone is safer. In this video he concludes that "now more than ever, Republicans and Democrats in Congress must work together to pass immigration reforms that improve security, promote order, and foster community trust."

As Americans and community leaders, let’s continue to fight for our values of welcome. Join us in showing your support for a conversation around immigration that unifies rather than divides, and for Congress to pass the solutions Americans need and want.

Stay hopeful and committed,
Oula Alrifai

Oula Alrifai
Assistant Vice President of Field and Constituencies
National Immigration Forum