More Misinformation from the Media:
Trump also wants to punish sanctuary cities—where policies bar police from making arrest for immigration violations or asking people about their immigration status. He decries these accommodations as a threat to public safety. In fact, they enhance it—by encouraging the 11 million foreigners living here without permission to cooperate with cops. . . . Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, told USA Today, “If people are afraid to come to the police, that domestic violence incident today will be a homicide tomorrow, and that’s in no one’s interest.” . . .
Most of what Trump says on this topic is lacking evidence. . . . [I]f he expects tougher enforcement to create jobs and raise wages, he’s in for a crushing disappointment. A report last year, commissioned by the National Academy of Sciences . . . found [immigration] has only a minimal impact on wages. – How Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Will Backfire, Chicago Tribune, Steve Chapman, 1/27/17. [Link]
Fact Check: Immigration advocates commonly claim that local enforcement of immigration law will cause a “chilling effect” on the reporting of crimes in illegal alien communities. Supposedly, fear of deportation will discourage witnesses to crimes from coming forward.
The problem with this claim is that there is little real evidence to back it up. The most common reasons for noncooperation with police, according to one respected study, were language barriers, cultural differences, and lack of understanding of the U.S. justice system. Significantly, authorities can shield a witness from deportation who wishes to provide testimony.
The most comprehensive study of the “chilling effect” focused on enforcement in Prince William County, Virginia. Conducted in 2009 by the University of Virginia and the Police Executive Research Forum, it found that the country’s enforcement had not damaged police and community relations. Recently, in testimony before the Senate a high-ranking official in the Justice Department maintained that the “chilling effect” is largely a myth. Evidence aside, immigration advocates keep on repeating it.
The National Academy of Sciences report did say that the “overall” impact of immigration on wages was small, but he neglected to note what else the report said. Namely, some groups within the overall society are feeling a significant pinch in wages. Prominent among them are native-born Americans (as well a previous immigrants) without a high school degree. The report further reveals that wage depression among low-income people, brought about by immigration, results in a large transfer of wealth from them to better-off people. The latter commonly profit from cheap labor.
Certainly it is true that immigrants seldom compete with prominent newspaper columnists for jobs. They can promote mass immigration without fear of personal loss.