While the president may be planning to create the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement office, U.S. House Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., plans to launch an alternate task force in response: the Saved by American Immigrants National Taskforce.
Donald Trump has authorized in a January executive order that the VOICE office would issue reports “studying the effects of the victimization by criminal aliens present in the United States.” Funding for the office would come from resources formerly allocated to assist undocumented immigrants.
The executive order included a provision in which the administration would publish a list of crimes that undocumented immigrants have committed. Polis’ group does the exact opposite — SAINT will collect stories from undocumented and documented immigrants, according to a release from his office, “who have positively contributed to U.S. society through heroic or lifesaving acts.”
The release states that many Americans are still alive today because of the contributions of those immigrants.
“President Trump was wrong when he insinuated immigrants are a greater threat to public safety than American citizens. This fear is misplaced and perpetuated by ‘alternative facts’ or lies,” Polis said in the statement.
“In actuality, immigrants are much less likely to commit crimes than people born in the United States. The truth is that hard working immigrants help vitalize our economy at home and bolster our global competitiveness. We are strongest as a nation, when we embrace our diversity,” he said.
Polis’ office cites 1980-2010 census data that shows 18- to 49 year-old noncitizens were one-half to one-fifth less likely to be in prison for a crime
The release also cites a study by the University of California in San Diego which “clearly found that immigrant-friendly communities are both safer and more economically vibrant.”
Polis has been a vocal proponent of immigration reform in a way that he said would align with American values, including his introduction of a 2013 bill called the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act to improve national security, streamline the guest worker system and a help undocumented immigrants obtain citizenship.
“The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill would have reduced the deficit by nearly $200 billion over ten years. The Senate companion of this landmark bill passed in June 2013 and was widely heralded as one of the most significant attempts at comprehensive immigration reform in decades,” the release stated.
Polis is also one of the founders of The New America School, a network of charter schools, which according to its website, “empowers new immigrants, English language learners, and academically underserved students with the educational tools and support to maximize their potential and live the American dream.”
Saja Hindi: 970-699-5404, hindis@reporter-herald.com, twitter.com/BySajaHindi.
