To: Chief of Police
Sheriff’s Department
Commissioner Rodney Brewer, Kentucky State Police
Mayor
Judge Executive
We, the undersigned, make up a diverse group of organizations, churches and service
providers who serve the immigrant community. We want to take this opportunity to
express our concerns to you regarding our community’s safety and more specifically our
concerns with Senate Bill 6 (“SB 6”).
The Immigrants and minority groups that we serve in our churches and agencies have
shared their experiences and worries with us. It is our immense concern that many people
in our city are afraid, and some are even terrified, of any interaction with the police. Not
because they have committed crimes, but because they often times feel singled out and
persecuted. If a large segment of a population does not believe they can trust the police
whose job it is to keep them safe, how can they feel safe and protected? How can they
report crimes if they witness them? Where would they look for help during an
emergency when they need it? This lack of trust creates a security vacuum and a safety
problem for the entire community.
Those of us that work with and serve the Immigrant community among others, have been
waiting, praying and working hard for a much needed “Comprehensive Immigration
Reform” in our country. We believe that the matters dealing with immigration status, as
well as the large problem of our fractured immigration system continue to be the
responsibility of the Federal government, NOT the state and NOT the local authorities.
Immigration Law is the purview of the Federal government. Fifty (or more) separate
immigration policies in the United States would be untenable.
The proposal of Senate Bill 6 in the Kentucky General Assembly has heightened our
concern to a whole new level. Senate Bill 6 relates to the enforcement of immigration
law by local law enforcement personnel, akin to the legislation enacted in Arizona in
2010. But SB 6 goes further by creating a Kentucky “illegal immigration” law to make a
crime of trespassing by an unauthorized alien, which, depending on the circumstances,
will become a Class A misdemeanor or Class C or Class D felony.
We are concerned that many immigrants and minorities already fear the police and see
them as untrustworthy. We recognize that part of the sense of distrust comes from the
pressure being put on local and state authorities, to act as an arm of federal government
by enforcing immigration policy. If Senate Bill 6 passes into law, it would basically
cement in the minds of our local immigrants and minorities and other immigrants across
the state that they cannot trust the police. Individuals will be forced even further into the
shadows making our entire city, county and state less secure.
Section 8 of SB 6 further broadens the bill’s reach. The language is so expansive that
humanitarian workers in our agencies, churches, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and
other aid sites, as well as first responders such as fire and ambulance employees, could
conceivably be found guilty for assisting undocumented aliens who reside in Kentucky.
We appeal to you, requesting that you personally and on behalf of your organizations
oppose Senate Bill 6 and make your position known publicly to our legislators in
Frankfort and within our diverse community. We are certain that your mission to protect
and serve our wonderful community will be undermined by the passage of this law and
we hope that you are willing to join us in opposing it before it is too late.
Thank you for your consideration of our concerns.
Sincerely,
Patti Gutiérrez Name
Justice for Immigrants Coordinator, Title
Diocese of Owensboro Organization
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