Gainesville is not as welcoming as it claims to be

Two years ago, Gainesville declared itself a welcoming city. However, a recent incident with the Gainesville Police has shown it may not be all that welcoming.

An undocumented woman from Guatemala reported abuse to the police. Her boyfriend was suspected of kicking and hitting her as she tried to leave the apartment. The man was arrested.

Speaking about the victim, witnesses in the apartment and the man arrested, GPD spokesperson Officer Ben Tobias told the Gainesville Sun “we have clear evidence to prove that they are illegal. If they are, we will report them to ICE.”

Reporting a victim of abuse to Immigrants and Customs Enforcement is essentially saying it’s OK to abuse people because they’re undocumented. It will increase fears the police are out to get them. Undocumented people have the right to feel safe in their communities.

This incident shows while Gainesville has a liberal and accepting atmosphere on the surface, police may not be as friendly as they seem in the “hot cop” photo or while playing basketball with kids on the street.

Police cannot be everywhere at once, and sometimes they rely on tips about crime. By overzealously taking on immigration enforcement even though it’s not meant to be in their purview, GPD is scaring people from reporting crimes. What’s next? Will hospitals report undocumented immigrants who come in with an injury? Will an undocumented person be reported to ICE for calling the fire department? These are resources that belong to the public, not just to American citizens.

This isn’t the first time a local police force has taken a report of a crime as an opportunity to turn someone in to ICE. In fact, such incidents might happen more often than they get noticed by journalists. According to CNN, earlier this year, a man near Seattle reported a trespasser on his property and was arrested after the police showed up and found an outstanding ICE warrant for the caller. ICE warrants aren’t held to the same standard as any other criminal warrant. They are issued by the agency itself and not independently reviewed.

These incidents break trust with the community. Often people will question a victim’s motives when they do not immediately report a crime to police. They might say reporting to the police doesn’t hurt, and it may be the only way for police to know which crimes to investigate. Incidents in which police arrest the victims or turn them in for an unrelated crime just create more reasons for people not to report to police.

There are many different crimes out there, and two illegal acts are not necessarily equally severe. Murder and money laundering, for example, or fraud and selling marijuana. In these cases, most of us believe one is worse than another.

To be undocumented is to not have appropriate papers and doesn’t mean anything more than that. Legally, it’s more comparable to a parking ticket than a violent crime. Undocumented people deserve public resources, like police and education, as much as anyone else.

The fact Tobias thought reporting an undocumented victim to ICE was mandatory speaks volumes. It’s not actually about what’s best for the community, but rather about a vendetta against undocumented immigrants. The undocumented people in this story were not reported to ICE, after public backlash. According to a Facebook post by Mayor Poe, the police department will not be reporting to ICE any more, but the story still raises questions about what police policies exist across the country.

We respect jurisdiction in all other situations, why not this one? There are crimes that fall under different enforcement agencies. Undocumented Americans are a part of our communities. Ideally, a police force should make their top priority keeping the community safe, including everyone in it. 

Nicole Dan is a UF political science and journalism senior. Her column focuses on race and culture.