Seattle rebukes Bush

In a slap at the Bush administration, the Seattle City Council has passed a “don’t ask” policy that bars police and other city workers from inquiring about the immigration status of people with whom they have contact.

The ordinance, passed on a 9-0 vote, directs “the police department of the city of Seattle and all other applicable city departments, except when required by law, to … refrain from participating in the enforcement of federal immigration laws.”

Backed by 35 immigrants-rights groups, the policy – believed to be the strongest of its kind in the country – spells out its opposition to the alleged erosion of civil liberties for legal and illegal immigrants resulting from the U.S. war on terrorism.

Former Republican candidate for Washington governor John Carlson, however, asserted on his local KVI radio talk show yesterday that “this entire measure was not passed to protect immigrants; it was designed to protect people who are here illegally.”

Carlson contended that the groups behind the ordinance are not really immigrants-rights groups but “illegal-alien activists.”

“Immigrant implies you come here legally from somewhere else,” Carlson said. “Most of our families did exactly that.”

The preface to the ordinance says that more than 25 communities across the country have “enacted resolutions reaffirming support for civil rights and civil liberties in response to the USA Patriot Act and other government policies that threaten these values, and demanding accountability from law enforcement agencies regarding their use of these new powers.”

President Bush signed the Patriot Act in October 2001. Titled in Congress, “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism,” the law has drawn criticism from both Republicans and Democrats.

Applauding Seattle’s decision, an attorney with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Anita Sinha, said, “In this climate of secret detentions and special registration, it’s clearly important to have a city council that takes a strong proactive stance.”

“It is just an incredibly frightening time,” said City Councilwoman Judy Nicastro, according to the Seattle Times.

Responding to Nicastro’s comment, Carlson said: “You would think Judy would be a little more frightened of al-Qaida than the U.S.”

Police concern

Carl Gipson, spokesman for a local think tank, the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, maintained that the ordinance sets a dangerous precedent.

“We are completely for legal immigrants collecting benefits and functioning as normal citizens, like everybody else,” he told WorldNetDaily. “But when police officers and other authority figures are barred from investigating immigration status … that poses a threat to our security.”

The Seattle Times said there was no “visible opposition” to the measure, but some police officers have questioned its wisdom, saying it is just one more restriction placed on their ability to fight crime.

In December, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that the measure would essentially codify a practice that the Seattle Police Department and other law-enforcement agencies have observed for years.

In June, the paper said, the Seattle Police Department issued a directive telling officers that they should not ask about a person’s immigration status or initiate action solely because of immigration status.

“We didn’t want to be perceived as a branch of the” Immigration and Naturalization Service, Seattle police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said at the time, according to the Post-Intelligencer. “Our mission is to protect people and not frighten people.”

An exception to the new law is that police officers are allowed to investigate a person’s immigration status if they have “reasonable suspicion” to believe the person has previously been deported and has committed a felony. Police also can assist Immigration and Naturalization Service agents as required by law.

The immigrants-rights advocates claim, however, that Seattle police have violated policy, pointing to police incident reports.

The Times said that Seattle police stopped Ramon Astul-Aviles on Jan. 9 for jaywalking in front of a patrol car, and he “was checked and found to be a prior deport” from the U.S. An INS agent then interviewed Astul-Aviles, arrested him and sent him to an INS holding facility.

Pramila Jayapal, executive director of Hate Free Zone, one of the groups that promoted the ordinance, said incidents like that appear to be troubling, reported the Seattle Times.

She said the key question is whether police had “reasonable suspicion,” apart from the suspects’ skin color or accents, to alert the INS.

“It’s like stopping a black person on the street and saying we’re suspicious of you because black people commit crimes,” she said.

The new law also urges Seattle public libraries to post in a prominent place a notice that says:

ATTENTION: Under Section 215 of the federal USA Patriot Act (Public Law 107-56), records of the books and other materials you borrow from this library may be obtained by federal agents. Federal law prohibits librarians from informing you if records about you have been obtained by federal agents. Questions about this policy should be directed to: Attorney General John Ashcroft, Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20530.

Carlson characterized the Seattle City Council members as entirely composed of liberal to left-wing Democrats, with the resolution’s sponsor, Nick Licata, “out there the farthest” to the left.

“You have to go to a ‘Saturday Night Live’ skit to see politicians who are more frazzled and more focused on U.S. foreign policy than the people who make up the Seattle City Council,” Carlson said.