A new survey commissioned by Policy Link found that Latinos are less likely to contact police if they are the victims of a crime due to fear of prosecution because of their legal status.
45 percent of Latinos said they were less likely to inform police officers about a crime due to immigration prosecution fears. Many said they felt under heightened suspicion since local officers have become more involved in immigration enforcement.
70 percent of undocumented Latinos surveyed were less likely to alert police officers if they were victims of a crime, out of fear that they or someone they know will be questioned regarding their immigration status.
“Federal deportation policy doesn’t just destroy families, it is destroying public trust in law enforcement and, as a consequence, threatening everyone’s public safety,” said Pablo Alvarado, executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.
62 percent of Latinos including 58 percent of U.S.-born Latinos, and 78 percent undocumented immigrants, reported feeling as though police stop Latinos without valid reason or cause “very” or “somewhat often.”
Angela Glover Blackwell, Policy Link’s founder and CEO, stated “if any of us are to be safe and secure, police must be able to be seen as public safety officers without being viewed as an entry point into deportation proceedings.”
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