LIVINGSTON COUNTY — Livingston County has received heavy criticism for a policy that requires the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office to document interactions between deputies and “illegal” immigrants, regardless of the nature of the contact.

But defining “illegal” when it comes to immigration is much more complicated than it seems – and the truth is, the term isn’t even accurate.

The Livingston County Council approved the new policy in September, even after residents and officials spent two hours opposing it. The rule extends to suspects, witnesses, arrested motorists and victims, in addition to those suspected of actually committing a crime.

Before the adoption of the resolution, Sheriff Mike Murphy told the Daily that any immigrant who has been in the country for three months or more without documentation is illegal, by its definition.

“You have nothing to do here. Within three months of entering this country, if you have failed to find a way to immigrate, to apply for asylum, to do it the right way, to get the paperwork done, then you don’t ‘You’re not good,’ he said.

“Either you want to go unnoticed and take American jobs and work for black money, or you are planning something more nefarious. There is no other explanation.

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But that’s not true, according to Elinor Jordan, managing attorney for the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. The explanation, she says, is a long and complicated immigration process that often leaves “undocumented” residents in limbo for months or even years.

“These comments really demonstrate a clear lack of knowledge about immigration law and how the immigration process works,” Jordan said. “In reality, many members of the immigrant community have pending legal immigration applications that can take years to be finalized, and while this process continues, they have a lot of paperwork, but do not have permanent status.”

So how can you legally immigrate to America?

According to Jordan, there are three “incredibly narrow and difficult gates to pass through” available to those wishing to immigrate to the United States: the family gate, the employment gate, and the humanitarian gate.

“(What’s) incredibly important for everyone to understand is that for people who want to come to the United States legally, that’s not really possible for the average person with, say, a college degree. high school or even a bachelor’s degree from Central. America. There would be virtually no way for them to come legally,” Jordan said.

Family immigration occurs when a close family member applies for a relative to become a legal permanent resident. According to the American Immigration Council, Immediate family members include spouses, unmarried minor children and parents.

Jordan said the process can take anywhere from 1 to 40 years, depending on where the applicant is from and their relationship to the person representing them.

To come to the United States through the employment door, Jordan said “an employer has to want you and has to prove that they can’t fill that position with American workers.”

Although there are temporary worker programs, they are only temporary. The programs also tie workers to their sponsoring employer, meaning they cannot “shop around” or accept other jobs.

Those seeking permanent immigration through employment often need an advanced degree or higher. According to the American Immigration Council, there are only 140,000 spots available per fiscal year. This number includes spouses and minor children, so the actual number of employees is even lower.

Most Jordanian clients go through the humanitarian process, as refugees or asylum seekers. Refugees are those who have applied for protection before entering the United States by proving they cannot return to their home country. They most often come from refugee camps. Asylum seekers are those who have come to America and then requested protection.

“The overwhelming majority of asylum seekers I meet leave because they absolutely do not want to participate in any form of criminal activity, gang or cartel that exists in their country of origin,” said Jordan. “They want to come to the United States so they can live a peaceful and productive life.”

There is a fourth category that Jordan said is a fairly small program: the diversity visa, which Jordan called pure luck.

The program aims to give the green light to immigrants from countries that have a relatively small immigrant population in the United States.

“It’s designed to keep people from Mexico, China, India and the Philippines from coming in – and is designed to encourage immigration from elsewhere,” Jordan said.

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The process wasn’t always this complicated. According to Jordan, it was not until the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 that immigration began to be restricted. Before that, people came to the United States, began the immigration process upon arrival, and were usually able to start living and working in the country fairly quickly.

“It’s been dramatically reduced over generations…because of deeply dehumanizing conversations,” Jordan said.

Being undocumented is not a crime

Livingston County’s new policy aims to track down “illegal” immigrants, but according to Jordan, immigration is not a criminal matter, but a civil matter.

“It’s really critical that people understand that the term illegal has been thrown around a lot, but the right to seek asylum is really enshrined in U.S. and international law,” Jordan said. “The qualifications are similar to those for refugee status, but they literally have to be here to seek asylum. »

When there are violations of immigration law, they are considered civil offenses under the jurisdiction of the federal government.

“These are not crimes,” Jordan said. “Because sheriffs must have reasonable suspicion of a crime to be able to arrest it, and because unlawful presence is not a crime, local law enforcement officers cannot detain or arrest someone. ‘a simply because they think a person is in the (country) illegally.

“Responsibility for civil immigration-related arrests rests with federal agents, and courts have repeatedly reaffirmed the federal government’s authority over immigration law.”

— Contact journalist Tess Ware at [email protected].

This article was originally published on Livingston Daily: The Michigan Immigrant Rights Center speaks out on the immigration process