48 Chiefs Send Open Letter Opposing Trump’s Immigration Policy

Four dozen current and retired law enforcement officials recently wrote in an open letter in opposition to the Trump administration’s policy of detaining immigrant families.

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June 28, 2018

48 Chiefs Send Open Letter Opposing Trump’s Immigration Policy

Four dozen current and retired law enforcement officials recently wrote in an open letter in opposition to the Trump administration’s policy of detaining immigrant families.

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Four dozen current and retired law enforcement officials recently wrote in an open letter — addressed to Speaker Paul Ryan (R), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D) — in opposition to the Trump administration’s policy of detaining immigrant families.

“As law enforcement leaders focused on public safety and fiscal responsibility, we write in support of the use of alternatives to detention (ATDs), after appropriate vetting, as a substitute to detaining families in immigration detention,” the letter began .

The authors wrote “We were encouraged by the administration’s issuance of an executive order on June 20 that sought to bring an end to widespread family separations” but that they don’t believe that “across-the-board family detention is the solution to family separation.”

All signers — reportedly members of both the Democratic and Republican parties — are members of the pro-immigration Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force (LEITF), which “launched in 2015 and is backed by the National Immigration Forum,” according to The Hill .

“Most families do not pose a threat to the community at large and, accordingly, our juvenile detention system is designed around keeping the family together,” the letter said.

Topics:Illegal Immigration Elected Leaders Immigration Enforcement Leadership Federal agencies Patrol Command