Questioning Residents About Citizenship Status Won't Make Neighborhoods Safer - Houston Chronicle
May 16, 2009
Such a policy change would make Houston the only major city police force in Texas to allow police questioning of non-suspects about their citizenship status. The reasons frequently cited by law enforcement officials for avoiding such queries is that they discourage undocumented residents from reporting crimes, cooperating with police in apprehending criminals, or even seeking medical care for ill or injured family members. In one Alabama case, a stabbing victim bled to death because undocumented neighbors were afraid to summon help.
Considering that the 2006 murder of HPD's Rodney Johnson and the shooting of officer Rick Salter in March were committed by men who had been previously deported and then returned to Houston, it's hard to see how spot checks of people's immigration status could have prevented the incidents
The Houston Chronicle
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Questioning Residents About Citizenship Status Won't Make Neighborhoods Safer - Houston Chronicle
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