By Humberto Caspa
President Donald Trump’s plan to remove all aid to sanctuary cities is counterproductive and irrational. This project will deepen the division of the country, will affect the economic development and health of those cities that protect the totality of its inhabitants without having to investigate their immigration status.
On the one hand, the federal government, through its government agencies, allocates economic funds to states, counties and municipalities to create economic development and solve problems that afflict their communities.
The US Department of Housing Urban Development (HUD), for example, provides grants through local grants (CDBG grants) to local governments to “provide services to the most vulnerable Community and to create jobs through the expansion and retention of businesses.”
Municipal leaders (mayor and councilors) are directly responsible for the distribution of these resources. Usually they are used in the creation of development, expanding vehicular arteries, doing maintenance works or building new buildings.
Another small part (between 10% and 20% of the resources, depending on the size of the city), government authorities distribute them among non-profit organizations, which normally deal with the social and health problems of their residents. The larger and more responsible the organization has with the community, the greater the money it receives.
These projects create a positive relationship between the federal state and local governments. Trump’s plan would be breaking such relationships.
On the other hand, the Trump government’s anti-immigrant plan will likely seek municipal police and immigration agents to cooperate and share information to deport undocumented immigrants.
Traditionally, the work of the police has been to enforce city laws, respond to calls from people, control traffic, conduct preliminary investigations, patrol the city and sometimes confront criminal organizations.
The work of the police is not precisely to investigate the people according to their national or ethnic origin, much less to demand migratory documents, but to ensure the safety of its inhabitants.
Many police chiefs think that the job of the police is to limit themselves to urban safety issues rather than to federal tasks. Charlie Beck, the Los Angeles police chief, suggests that his officers rely on information and complaints from their neighbors to maintain community safety. His department would not be cooperating with any deportation plan. Thus, the Trump project paradoxically creates insecurity.
Humberto Caspa, Ph.D., is a professor and researcher for Economics On The Move. E-mail: hcletters@yahoo.com
