Texas move to ICE all police bad — and expensive — idea

There’s a bad idea afoot on the political right that may soon be translated into a bad law. The idea is that law enforcement officers — everyone from beat cops to sheriff ’s deputies to highway patrol officers — must be enlisted in immigration enforcement.

Many officials coast to coast adamantly oppose this — although most departments already assist federal immigration agents when necessary. But where many police draw the line is enforcement actions that may lose the trust of whole immigrant communities.

Crime is more easily prevented and solved with the cooperation of communities. When people fear the police, that relationship is undercut.

Nevertheless, the Texas legislature is hell-bent. After 16 hours of debate that began Wednesday and ended Thursday, it passed an amendment that allows law enforcement to ask about immigration status as a part of routine policing, even if a person isn’t under arrest.

The Texas Senate passed a similar measure, and Gov. Greg Abbott is eager to sign it into law.

Here is how Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, formerly Austin’s police chief, summed up the measure on Twitter: “Violent crime is on rise across our Nation & some would rather men & women in blue go after cooks & nannies, instead of hardened criminals.”

The proposal is part of a bill to punish “sanctuary cities,” even though its backers admit that Texas has no such jurisdictions. So how did the idea germinate?

Behold “The Quintessential Force Multiplier: The Inherent Authority of Local Police to Make Immigration Arrests.” It’s a 2005 publication written for the Albany Law Review. The author is Kris Kobach, Kansas secretary of state and a longtime adviser on immigration within Republican circles.

The article lays out Kobach’s view that a legal framework exists for what President Donald Trump has called a national deportation force. One thing to note, however, is that Kobach doesn’t insist that such tag-teaming should be mandatory. “It is essential to recognize that any assistance that state or local police provide to the federal government in the enforcement of federal immigration laws is entirely voluntary,” he wrote.

Many have speculated that Kobach might get a role in the Trump White House, maybe as a deputy secretary for Homeland Security. But he announced on Fox News last week that he would remain in Kansas to possibly run for governor in 2018.

Reportedly, Trump got leery. He’s having enough trouble with his immigration schemes, some of which Kobach promoted.

Also last week, a court halted the Trump executive order that sought to withhold federal funding as a way to punish cities that don’t fully cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

Distancing from Kobach is another sign of the continuing re-education of Trump. He’s learning that rants that played well on the campaign trail don’t translate well into actual policy. But there is still Texas. Some would say that Kobach is an “architect” of tough immigration laws. A more honest assessment is to say that he is a Pied Piper to the courthouse, where he’ll leave the gullible with hefty legal bills.

Kobach certainly got one his next set of politicians lassoed up like Texas longhorns, ready to head off to their own slaughter.