Chicago Sun Times: Reality check for Trump’s deportation plan is up to us

Let people know where they stand.

As a pragmatic and economic matter, as well as a moral one, every Illinois town and county would be wise to decide and let residents know just how far their local cops will go to carry out President Donald Trump’s plan to more aggressively deport unauthorized immigrants.

Will a town order the police to question stopped motorists about their legal status? What about undocumented immigrants who report crimes or come forward as witnesses? Are they at risk of triggering their own deportations?

If elected officials across the state fairly weigh all considerations, we would hope they come to the reasonable conclusion that there is a limit to how aggressively they should respond to Trump’s order. Federal authorities still will conduct raids and detain people, no doubt, but local officials will have a great deal to say in the matter, as we have seen in Cook County. They can reinforce a degree of normalcy in immigrant communities that began to panic the day Trump was elected.

At the national level, Trump’s decision to ramp up deportations of undocumented immigrants, even those who haven’t committed serious crimes, begs for a continued push for a comprehensive approach to immigration reform.

The advocacy group Partnership for a New American Economy, led by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is behind a renewed effort for reform and has brought on board congressional Republicans and Democrats, Politico reported. The group will hold 100 events across the U.S. and sponsor an ad campaign that counters Trump’s anti-immigrant crusade.

Read the full story from the Chicago Sun Times: “Reality check for Trump’s deportation plan is up to us”