José E. Serrano: “It's clear, it should be clear to Members what this amendment does and what this program does. This, in fact, has local…”

“It's clear, it should be clear to Members what this amendment does and what this program does. This, in fact, has local law enforcement enforcing immigration law. This is the most unpopular and rejected program within law enforcement in this country when it comes to these types of programs. Department after department, police department after police department, sheriff's department after sheriff's department has said we don't want this responsibility, we don't want this job. In fact, that is the reason why the number of communities that have participated in this program is not anywhere where the proponents would want it to be, because the mainstay, the strength of local law enforcement is the ability to fight crime, to protect the community, and, yes, even to flush out possible terrorist acts by getting information from the community. Granted, there is an immigration issue. But the police departments, the local law enforcement do not want to play the role of immigration officers because they want the ability to be able to speak to members of the community and get information.”