UPDATE: Logan Jenkins weighs in on ICE agents and police
Logan Jenkins, columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune, has written a column about the “fine line” that Escondido Police and agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) must walk as they work together. He points out that while police work to build trust, ICE agents succeed on fear. He concludes his column by criticizing Police Chief Maher:
In an ideal world, Police Chief Jim Maher would have fully briefed the City Council. He’d have held a news conference. He’d have written an op-ed for the local newspapers.
In short, he would have made the difficult argument that the routine presence of ICE on certain police calls should not freeze relations between police and the city’s Latino community.
Instead, the new line-blurring policy comes off like a menacing stealth measure, one that brings a certain invented word to mind.
Read the entire column. Continue reading to see a U-T editorial against the cooperative agreement.
Earlier, the newspaper editorialized against the Escondido Police Department policy that involves agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) in law enforcement efforts. Three ICE agents are assigned to Escondido Police, sometimes working in the headquarters, sometimes riding on patrol.
In the editorial, the newspaper concludes: “Perception tends to be reality in the minority community when it comes to the exercise of government authority. Our concern is that Escondido may again be fostering public distrust by the way it creates new policies in dealing with its own residents.”