Law school to host crime and immigration conference

Immigration and crime are quickly converging in the public and media's eyes, with recent protests against new immigration bills and new police-deportation policy arriving before Congress. This weekend, the connection between the two issues will be the joint focus of an upcoming conference at UB's Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy.

The event, titled "Merging Immigration and Crime Control," will be the first of its kind to explore these issues on an academic level, according to Teresa Miller, a UB law professor who will serve as one of the meeting's moderators.

The speakers' presentations will have different views, she said, but they concur on one thing.

"These legal scholars are all in agreement that the system for regulating immigration has changed dramatically," Miller said. "And given the posture of Congress, these changes are likely to continue."

According to Miller, immigration has become increasingly criminalized over the last 10 years, with more immigration crimes and enhanced penalties for existing crimes.

"(Immigrants) can be deported under some harsh circumstances, leaving children behind," she said. "They can be deported for a drug offense that they've done 20 years ago, because the laws have changed, even though they have established families here."

"It's particularly heart wrenching when the person has no contact with the country they're from," Miller said.

Since the beginning of the Bush Administration's War on Terror, legal immigration has taken on new meaning, according to Miller.

"Things that used to be just administrative violations are now crimes," she said.

Whereas some advocates are concerned about the rights of immigrants, others say it's an issue of basic legality.

"It was never an administrative technicality," said Giovanna Macri, a local immigration attorney and adjunct law professor at UB. "The visa is not the issue."

The issue, according to Macri, is the green or white card issued by customs officials at the border entering the United States, which matches the visa and determines how long an immigrant is allowed to stay in the country.

"People believed that if you over-stayed, you're not violating the law," Macri said. "Immigration violations are violations of the law."

According to Macri, there appears to be more of a crackdown on illegal immigration because of increased technology, a greater number of law enforcement officials since 2001 and increased communication between departments.

Immigration matters are federal jurisdiction, but some local police officers have also become involved. If they catch a person speeding in their car, officers now inform Immigration Control Enforcement if that person's visa status is flagged in the database.

"Officials often don't respond right away," Macri said, "but if the immigration official said they'd be there in 20 minutes, you can bet that officer will take 20 minutes to write the ticket."

The situation varies for immigrants involved in criminal activity. Different crimes equate to different immigration violations.

"If you are convicted of intent to sell a narcotic, you are considered an aggravated felon. You are considered deportable," Macri said, referring to immigration law.

There are some legal options available, however, to immigrants who are detained, depending on the individual case.

"It's not one of those situations where everyone is out to get the individual and out to deport the individual," Macri said.

Local law enforcement, government officials and lawyers work in "a way that is very respectful to the individual."

"In the Western New York area, both sides are equally difficult. They're equally struggling," she said. "They're dealing with people's lives and nobody wants to make a mistake."

Macri, who will speak at the UB conference on Saturday, is keeping a close eye on the current immigration debate in Congress.

"If they decide to make illegal entry a crime, per say, instead of an immigration violation, we're going to see a jump in prison population," Macri said.

"I don't think, in this conference, that we're going to solve the problem," said Miller, "but this is the first academic conference that focuses just on this issue of how crime control and immigration control are converging."

The crime and immigration conference will feature 14 scholars specializing in immigration law and criminal law. The event is open to the public, but space is limited. E-mail events coordinator Ellen Kausner at ekausner@buffalo.edu to register.