Happy Constitution Day!
There’s no better place to celebrate the adoption of the United States Constitution and those who have become U.S. citizens than Constitutional Livingston County!
If you recall, the Livingston County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution in April 2023 to declare Livingston a “Constitutional County.” According to the resolution, “It is the desire of this board to reaffirm its commitment and support of the Constitution of the United States of America, as well as the Constitution of the State of Michigan, including all amendments which protect Livingston County citizens’ individual rights.”
Sounds sweet, right?
Maybe not so much when you consider that during last week’s Courts, Public Safety and Infrastructure committee meeting of the county board, Wes Nakagiri proposed a resolution to “monitor and document contacts between illegal immigrants and the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office.”
What in the racial-profiling is this? Take a look for yourself.
There are so many questions.
• How does the Sheriff’s department intend to identify these folks?
• What method will be used to track this information?
• Will my tax dollars be used to upgrade a system to include specialized tracking and analysis?
We’ll get to that, but for now I want to get back to the resolution and its quote of Sheriff Mike Murphy describing how Livingston County is not immune to the illegal immigration crisis as noted by ONE sexual assault committed in Green Oak Township by a man identified as an undocumented immigrant.
The resolution goes on with Wes’ signature selective data tactic to manipulate and incite fear and anger amongst his ilk (click here). Ironically this is a well-known tactic.
Plus, we all know how Wes feels about immigration, so are we shocked that he would draft this hit piece of a resolution? I guess I am more shocked that he, as a grandson of immigrants, has such an uncharitable view of them. My own grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from Italy to escape fascism and poverty, and yet here I am today, writing about a piece of paper that essentially green lights cultural racism and turns the Sheriff’s Office into the Gestapo.
Granted, we have an immigration and a border issue in the United States. However, not everyone is working from the same knowledge surrounding this issue, from the misnaming of the status of immigrants, to the outright lies and subterfuge (Haitians eating pets) spread to perpetuate fear, create distrust and potentially violence against foreign-born immigrants with legal status.
Because I want to make sure I get this right and knowing that things are never as black-and-white as they seem — no matter how hard Wes tries to manipulate the data — I have attached this fact sheet and this glossary that include citations, and describes many of the types of statuses that allow immigrants to be in the U.S. legally. Also, this is pretty useful information.
What this means is that not every foreign-born, foreign-adjacent brown person, or non-English speaking person is “illegal.” As you can see from the glossary, there are many types of legal statuses.
“Undocumented immigrants” have entered the United States illegally, and do not receive government-sponsored social welfare. What does that mean? Simply put, no “illegals” will be getting a steak sandwich courtesy of your tax dollars, an odd concern mentioned at the call to public portion of the county board meeting regarding the resolution.
“Undocumented immigrants” are the folks I assume this resolution is targeting, and targeting with the assumption that undocumented immigrants cause a noticeable increase in crime.
Here’s what I found out about the foreign-born members of our community.
According to numbers derived from the Census Bureau using 2023 data, the Hispanic population of Livingston County is 2.9%, which amounts to 5,220 people.
This same data shows the foreign-born population in 2022 as 5,520, a slight decline from 2021.
Additionally, the Michigan League for Public Policy has a fact sheet that was posted in 2019 using 2017 data that indicates a majority of immigrants in Livingston County (69%) arrived in the United States before the year 2000, making them firmly rooted members of our community and economy, and most of whom become naturalized citizens.
We cannot ignore that a 15-year-old girl was raped in 2023 by an undocumented immigrant. It is a horrific crime perpetrated against a child, and I hope this man is convicted and imprisoned for a very long time.
A phrase I have heard several times is “a crime committed by an illegal is a preventable one.”
I agree.
I agree that our immigration policy should be more strict and more efficient. I agree that we need secure and comprehensive border control to limit/eliminate illegal border crossings. If only the politicians agreed.
I guess we should be thankful that there was only one rape considering the shit border and immigration policy our elected leaders can’t seem to work on for the good of Americans. What is of greater concern to me — and should be for the commissioners and all of you — are the 96 other sexual offenses that occurred in Livingston County in the last 365 days as reported by the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office Crime Mapping.
Frankly, I am surprised that Wes Nakagiri isn’t concerned about the 75 registered sex offenders in a 5-mile radius of M-59 and U.S. 23 in Hartland. Of particular note for this (and other searches across the county) the offenders were overwhelmingly white. One was Black. Two were white women.
Is it too soon to say the call is coming from the inside?
What about this recent arrest of a white, male worship leader?
Ring, ring …
At any rate, if you want to look up the registered sex offenders near your home, click here. You may be shocked to see just how many people are on this list.
If any of the commissioners, including Wes Nakagiri, were truly concerned with public safety, they would address the sexual assaults occurring in their own backyards (yeah, you too, David Domas; Cidermill Crossing is a hotbed for crime). Sarcasm alert: But because it’s an election year and pandering is on the menu, let’s shake the trees and see if we can rustle up some cat eatin’ immigrants to bring Trump a win! <eyeroll>
If you want to affect illegal border crossings and the subsequent crime that may follow, comprehensive border control is how we do it. Strict and efficient immigration policy is how we do it, with more judges and magistrates to adjudicate cases within 90 days, not nine months.
What we don’t do is “monitor and track” undocumented immigrants because it simply cannot be done.
Why? You’re going to love this: The United States Constitution protects the rights of undocumented immigrants — including the right to due process — and they are not compelled to disclose to law enforcement their residency status.
In Reno V. Flores 1993, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote: “It is well established that the Fifth Amendment entitles aliens to due process.”
No person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself nor be deprived of life, liberty or prosperity without due process.
Christina Rodriguez, Yale Law School professor, says this about the issue: “Most of the provisions of the constitution apply on the basis of personhood.”
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, immigrants do not need to disclose residency nor produce documents to local law enforcement if asked. That is the purview of border agents and ICE.
So, it’s not like information that may be gleaned from an encounter will be accurate as it is a Constitutional violation. So why even try? Will they guess? (Ahem, that’s profiling and a big no-no for law enforcement). It seems like an exercise in futility to appease a hyper-partisan bully who cares more about national politics than the very real issues dragging down his district. Any attempts to collect this information will be about as accurate as putting hash-marks on a dirty napkin found in a cruiser.
Here are the morals of the story:
1. Immigration and border control is a federal issue, not a local law enforcement issue.
2. If a crime is being committed beyond your suspicion that someone is undocumented, call 9-1-1.
3. If you suspect someone is undocumented, and you just can’t help yourself from dropping a dime on a brown person minding their own business, call the ICE tip line at (866) 347-2423 or submit your tip by clicking here.
4. Women and children are more at risk of sexual assault from white guys than an immigrant, so keep your eye on the actual perpetrators of crime in Livingston County.
5. Many provisions of the constitution apply to person-hood, not just citizens.
Finally, I reached out to Sheriff Mike Murphy to inquire about this trash-heap of a resolution. While there was a connection issue and the call dropped, among what we did get an opportunity to discuss, one thing he said sticks out to me the most: “This isn’t Nazi Germany.”
No, sir. This is NOT Nazi Germany.
It would be great if we didn’t act like it.
So, on this Constitution Day, let’s take some time to honor it even though the Board of Commissioners is attempting to violate the very tenets they have sworn to uphold.
See this link for activities and lessons to share with your kids and community to celebrate Constitution Day!
