Bowing to Trump encourages him
The Journal’s editorial of Feb. 10, “Why is council picking a fight with Washington?” was shocking in seeming to encourage Albuquerque to bend to the will of a “bully” — as the editorial labeled the president of the United States — despite the local experience with our immigrant communities in Albuquerque. It was wrong on several points.
Bullying is a huge problem in our schools and there are many programs trying to address it, including ours . ... NEVER are children taught to bend to the will of the bully or to encourage others to do so. Bending to the will of a bully just encourages the bully. In the context of a city standing up to executive orders that do not fit the values of our community, Albuquerque has options.
The executive order that threatened funding to states and cities that decline to collaborate and cooperate with federal immigration enforcement activities was issued on Jan. 25. The Journal implied this could be used to cut funding to the city because of any actions by the council to reaffirm a 16-year-old resolution
... that made our city somewhat friendly to immigrants. The executive order is yet another action by this new president that is fraught with legal problems and, while it may excite his most fervent supporters, it may have limited use.
Recently, in the Sebelius case which upheld most of the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court struck down ... the federal government’s attempt to withhold unrelated federal funding to states that refused to implement the Affordable Care Act . ... Another Supreme Court case that is relevant is Printz, decided in 1997 . ... The court ruled that the federal government “may not compel the states to enact or to administer a federal regulatory program.”
These cases, and others, put limits on the federal government’s power over cities, counties and states. So, there are legal remedies to seek from the courts to stand up to the bully . ...
Another error in the editorial is the author’s mischaracterization of Mayor Richard Berry’s policy change after a campaign in which he made Mayor Martin Chávez’s immigration policies an issue. The policy change he led was to allow ICE to check immigration status at the prisoner transport center, NOT to direct the police to check the immigration status of everyone they arrest . ... Such questioning discourages cooperation with police authorities and discourages victims from reporting crimes, and that, of course, will impact public safety . ...
President Trump’s attempt to “remake immigration policy as we know it” as asserted by the editorial, must comply with the Constitution of the United States, and he must work with Congress, as well as with state and local leaders. He can’t simply order them to bend to his will. And we should not encourage that behavior by bowing to his will. ANTOINETTE SEDILLO LOPEZ
Executive Director Enlace Comunitario, professor emerita UNM School Of Law