ACLU of Alabama Declares Fairhope’s Wholesale Investigation of Foreign Workers Discriminatory and in Excess of Local Law Enforcement Authority
July 12, 2007
FAIRHOPE, AL – The City of Fairhope’s effort to carry out indiscriminate investigations of foreign workers is a counterproductive response to the horrific crime of child sexual abuse committed against a thirteen-year-old child. The action violates the workers’ constitutional rights and is outside the scope of the city’s authority.
Following the arrest of a foreign-born Jamaican man charged with sodomy, Mayor Tim Kant directed the city’s assistant police chief to start an investigation into the backgrounds and legal status of foreign workers employed by the Grand Hotel Marriot Resort and housed near Fairhope High School. Criminal investigations of the foreign workers are completely unwarranted unless directly related to a criminal investigation. “The likely result of such groundless investigations is that fewer undocumented residents in the area will be willing to cooperate with the police in further criminal investigations,” said Nikki Cox, Public Education Associate of the ACLU of Alabama. “The safety of the Fairhope community is best-served when law enforcement forges positive relationships with undocumented residents instead of taking action that leads to fear and avoidance of the police.”
Fears that immigrants perpetrate more crimes are based on stereotypes and unfounded myths. According to a 2007 report by the American Immigration Law Foundation, “data from the census and other sources show that for every ethnic group without exception, incarceration rates among young men are lowest for immigrants, even those who are the least educated.” The report also notes that among men age 18-39, the incarceration rate of the native-born in 2000 was 3.5 percent, 5 times higher than the 0.7 percent incarceration rate of the foreign-born.
Additionally, the Fairhope Police Department has no authority to enforce federal civil immigration law. That authority is relegated to the federal government. Furthermore, the Grand Hotel Marriot is bound, as a matter of law, not to share information provided by employees on I-90 forms.
Mayor Kant said he asked police to start investigating workers living next to Fairhope High, but to eventually extend the investigation to other businesses within the city’s police jurisdiction that employ foreign workers. His plan reveals that anti-immigrant bias, not crime-prevention, is the true motivation for these investigations. Immigrants, including those who are undocumented, have rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution to privacy, to be treated fairly, and to other fundamental rights U.S. citizens enjoy. The mayor and police department should focus their resources on individuals suspected of criminal behavior and develop cooperative relationships with the immigrant community for the good of all residents of Fairhope.
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