Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz is in a very uncomfortable position:
“Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on illegals doesn’t apply to criminal investigations.
Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz said in a Tuesday news conference that police are not to ask about a person’s immigration status and will not enforce federal immigration laws.
But that doesn’t mean police can’t arrest an illegal immigrant or inquire about a person’s immigration status in a criminal investigation, according to this morning’s Albuquerque Journal .
“Any officer investigating criminal activity is allowed to inquire about immigration status and take any action necessary,” said Schultz, who said there is a lot of confusion about APD policy regarding illegal immigrants.
Schultz said false information is circulating that criminals will not be asked their immigration status, the Journal reported.
Hmm, I wonder what the cause of that confusion is:
Some police officers told News 13 that the change could prevent some serious criminals who are illegal immigrants from being deported.
The policy, a copy of which was obtained by News 13, states, “Officers shall not inquire or seek proof of a person’s immigration status, even if an arrest is made for a non-immigration criminal investigation.”
Schultz said the policy is being misinterpreted.
“The intent that’s there was never to prohibit officers from conducting a criminal investigation, and, during the course of that criminal investigation, determining the immigrant status of the person that they’re dealing with,” he said. “So, we need to clarify that.”
Sorry Chief Schultz, but clarification is not the problem. The policy language is very clear. What you need and the City of Albuquerque need to do is let police officers enforce the law. Illegal immigrants are illegal.
Now to be fair, Chief Schultz is operating in a politcal environment in New Mexico that is full of mixed messages when it comes to immigration.