By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green Police Division is not in the pursuit of undocumented immigrants.
“People think the police division is an arm of ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement),” said Major Justin White. “That misinformation breeds fear.”
To try to calm those fears, Bowling Green Police Chief Tony Hetrick has met with members of the Latino organization La Conexion, and White has met with students and staff at the English Language Center at Bowling Green State University.
“We are not out enforcing immigration, determining if someone should be here,” White said. “We are not stopping people driving down the street who look like immigrants to see if they belong here.”
Across the nation, anxiety spiked recently after a series of raids made by U.S. immigration authorities. Hundreds of undocumented immigrants in several states have been arrested, according to President Donald Trump as part of his crackdown on immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.
Officials said the raids targeted known criminals, but they also netted some immigrants without criminal records. Last month, Trump broadened the scope of who the Department of Homeland Security can target to include those with minor offenses or no convictions at all.
That has led to fear throughout the country, and has led to a petition calling for BGSU to become a sanctuary campus.
BG Police Major Justin White talks with citizen during Coffee with Cops last year.
White said it is his understanding that international students have nothing to fear. “In order for them to get accepted into BGSU, they would have to have the proper paperwork,” he said.
The Bowling Green Police Division has worked with ICE in the past, probably once or twice a year, White estimated.
“Basically our role would be to assist them in their investigation,” he said.
In his 16 years on the force, White said he has worked with ICE just once. That case involved a BGSU graduate student who reportedly was making threats and had “suspicious” documentation.
“We investigated” initially, he said. Then the border patrol and FBI stepped in. “They took the investigation over.”
The suspect was deported.
Hetrick and White have responded to community concerns by speaking to groups who fear the president’s posture on immigrants.
“I think there’s a lot of fear right now, that they are going to be deported,” White said.
Though BG police will have to identify the immigration status if they are investigating someone, it is not their initial intent. White said if an undocumented immigrant is being investigated for committing a crime, the suspect would be taken to the county justice center for that crime, not for their undocumented status. He also said BG Police Division does not report anyone with undocumented status to ICE.
“Our role is not to drive around and check people’s immigration status,” White said. “The correct information needs to get out to relieve some of those fears.”
