Compassionate Deportation: A Dignified Approach to Immigration Enforcement
Lawful, Orderly, and Just: Rethinking deportation with dignity and fairness
Pundits have no shortage explanations for the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. Their supposed factors influencing the results include Harris failing to select Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro as a running mate to Trump podcasting on The Joe Rogan Experience. Depending on who you are listening to, every tiny detail worked for or against the candidates in the tight too-close-to-call election. But it wasn’t a tension filled tally as Trump walked away with every swing state. Regardless, one issue has loomed large since Trump’s 2015 Fifth Avenue announcement that he was running for president: illegal immigration.
Within this article, I will be using the official term, unauthorized alien and the more familiar term, illegal alien, interchangeably and neither as a pejorative term. In contrast, the term undocumented migrant is an insult and an offense to every citizen, every naturalized U.S. citizen, and their families.
In 2015, President Barack Obama, during the State of the Union address, hinted at some form of amnesty for unauthorized aliens:
"Surely we can all see something of ourselves in the striving young student and agree that no one benefits when a hardworking mom is taken from her child, and that it's possible to shape a law that upholds our tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants."
Every meaningful immigration bill for the last 45 years has been dead on arrival on the issue of amnesty for illegal aliens. The idea of a path to citizenship for those who broke the law by either enter the nation illegally or failed to leave when their visa expired, completely undermines our legal process.
The consensus that border security is a responsibility of the federal government is a rare position shared (until recently) by all major political parties. Pre-Trump there was a consensus between Libertarians, Democrats, and Republicans that a secure border was one of the few common justifications for a federal government.
Police will be key in the next steps
Today, the top stories are the protests in the cities of Madison, Phoenix, Salt Lake, Denver, Washington D.C., Tucson, and Nashville. In Los Angeles, demonstrators are devolving into rioters as they spend consecutive days turning into weeks opposed to the enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws.
What role will the police play?
In 2010, Arizona passed and enacted SB 1070, a controversial law that would empower local law enforcement to investigate immigration status upon reasonable suspicion. Media reports at the time were soaked with bias and ready with fantastical straw man arguments that it was impossible to discern the facts from the news stories. Fortunately, I am blessed with a friend who has been an Arizona criminal justice professional for 25 years. I consulted with Sgt. Jeff Daukas who was gracious enough to share what law enforcement experienced 15 years ago and provide some illumination today:
“On April 23, 2010, Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona signed into law SB 1070, the appropriately named the ‘Support our Law-Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act.’ This law carried four provisions although three of the four were struck down as unconstitutional, holding the premise that based on ‘reasonable suspicion’ local law-enforcement could make it a determination of immigration status, then arrest that person pending a transfer to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division locally - if it was determined that person had entered the country illegally.”
Sgt. Daukas continues discussing the Fourth Amendment issues present in SB 1070:
“It is clear that ‘probable cause’ is the legal standard for removing someone’s right to privacy, overcoming the right to unlawful seizure, and effecting a lawful arrest. However, it was determined SB 1070 did not fulfil that standard, so law enforcement paused enforcement until clarification came from the appeals which were being filed almost daily. Ultimately, the fourth provision of that law is still in effect today, which allows local law-enforcement to determine the immigration status of someone whom they have legally arrested. That information is recorded, and per policy requires contact with the arrested person’s consulate to inform them a citizen of their country was under arrest.’ (His bio and contact info is in the references section of this article.)
Nationally, the controversy emerged that it is very hard to justify why you would check and/or hold a white, black, Latino or Asian person merely on physical appearance during an unrelated valid stop. A significant portion of our nation’s illegal aliens are visitors with valid visas when they entered who overstayed. Yet in 2016, prior to the election since it had become a prime topic, best estimates from federal government were that there were between 9,000,000 and 20,000,000 unauthorized aliens in the United States. A spread of that size, over 50% is clear that they had no idea whatsoever of how many are here.
Today, local law enforcement agencies are signing 287(g) agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enforce aspects of federal immigration law. Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida just authorized the Florida Highway Patrol to work within that agreement. He also signed a state immigration bill into law that “…sets up a State Board of Immigration Enforcement comprised of the governor, the agriculture commissioner and two other officials. All of its decisions must be made unanimously.” It is being touted by Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature as the toughest state immigration law in the country.
The alternative to strict enforcement is better for everyone
I’m a big Tom Holman fan and he likely already has all of this laid out. If we provide a functional registration method, we can work beneficially with families and individuals destined for deportation for months prior to their forced relocation.
What would be best for the citizens of the United States? An orderly deportation benefits everyone. Many unauthorized aliens have accumulated significant assets, including property, businesses, and investment holdings. A structured deportation program would provide them with the opportunity to liquidate or transfer these assets in an orderly manner, ensuring greater financial security upon their return to their home countries. By allowing time for divestment and legal transfers, this approach would help prevent financial losses and promote economic stability for both the individuals involved and the communities they leave behind.
Many unauthorized aliens would benefit to leave on their own terms. An orderly concept, with a deadline, will give those facing deportation additional options on voluntarily exiting the United States and let them choose the destination where they can pursue new prospects. The alternative, where family members are identified and held on a piecemeal basis and then randomly deported is very undesirable by comparison.
Compliant deportees will also benefit from having a data profile within United States secure immigration systems that will expedite their application to return legally, a powerful incentive, to leaving and returning ‘in status.’ Their exit status will influence their embargo for applying for a United States visa. However, anyone who eludes detection and requires law enforcement action to deport them from our nation will be forever barred from returning legally to the United States for any reason.
Compassion and order must combat the lies
Fearmongers from the legacy media and leftists have practiced deliberate dishonesty of this necessary process. Deportations peaked during the Obama administration in 2014. It is beneficial to remember that violations of sovereign borders today, in many if not most countries, are a matter of mortal risk. If I tipped off the polite Canadians that some hostile foreign group were going to be crossing their southern border, they would be met with well regulated Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Canadian Mounties.) Attempted unauthorized border entry in more than 100 nations means you’ll meet your eternal destiny.
Mainstream media reports today include fabricated stories of ICE agents entering schools to seize and separate families. More and more rumors are that task forces are targeting churches and houses of worship. Currently the focus is on criminals who prey on the citizens and legal visitors of our country.
There will be occasions where CBP, ICE, DHS agents will need to visit homes, churches, schools and social clubs. It is going to happen simply because it is necessary. However today, they are hitting capacity just deporting incarcerated unauthorized aliens.
Hire magistrates to handle asylum claims
How many short term asylum and status magistrates, consisting of retired attorneys teamed with young law school graduates who haven’t taken or passed the bar yet as their clerks, will it take to clear the decade long backlog in 18 months? Answer: it doesn’t matter. How much will it cost? Answer: it will be a bargain regardless the cost.
This is a perfect example how the federal government is pennywise and pound foolish. Merely the cost of social assistance and welfare, that we probably shouldn’t be paying anyway, dwarfs the cost of training and paying magistrates.
Deport the dreamers
Once people are out of the shadows, and the playing field is leveled, we’ll get a fix on everyone who needs to stay or needs to go. The compassionate argument for the DACA Dreamers is that those childhood arrivals shouldn’t be subjected to being deported to a country where they don’t even know the language. However, since Obama’s executive action, the dreamers have had sufficient time, twelve years, to learn the language of their homeland. American expats regularly relocate to these very nations without being fluent in the native tongue. Hesitating to deport because the unauthorized alien hasn’t trained themselves in an essential life skill to assimilate in their native land is not a policy, it is a poor excuse. Certain jurisdictions have hired DACA unauthorized aliens as sworn law enforcement officers. We are going to have to strip them of their unconstitutional weapons and badges and get them on the deportation list with everyone else in the country illegally.
They should understand better than anyone else since a pillar of law enforcement is impartiality. It’s nothing personal: it’s just business.
Please keep all of our local, county, state, tribal and federal law enforcement officers in your prayers.
Roland Clee served a major Florida police department as a Community Service Officer for more than 26 years. His career included uniformed patrol, training, media relations, intelligence, criminal investigations, and chief’s staff. He writes the American Peace Officer newsletter, speaks at public safety, recruiting and leadership conferences and helps local governments and public safety agencies through his business, CommandStaffConsulting.com.
Sgt. Jeff Daukas has been serving in public safety for almost 25 years. He holds a masters degree in criminal justice and is a widely-recognized trainer in use of force, criminal law, and leadership. He is a graduate of the FBI-LEEDA Supervisory Leadership Institute program, and uses his passion for serving people in many contexts. Jeff is the national training director for Mission First Alliance (www.missionfirstalliance.com), a nonprofit worldwide organization seeking to equip and encourage first responders with the real hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jeff can be reached at: courageousnobility@protonmail.com or through Mission First Alliance.”
References
https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/287g-program-immigration
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/13/nx-s1-5294991/trump-deportations-florida-desantis
It’s a continued privilege to serve and to serve alongside professionals like Roland!
Big picture problems, for sure. And I like your solutions. Moving forward, What do you think of requiring all who want to become citizens to learn American history — and the English language?