Latino Concerns

A group of Epiphanites visited Frankfort on February 9, 2011 to attend a hearing on the proposed legislation known as Senate Bill 6, which would create state felony laws concerning illegal immigration and authorize police officers to enforce the legislation. The following is written by parishioner Martha Groene, one of the members attending the hearing that day.

As reported in the headlines, immigration issues seem so black and white and political parties seem so stuck in their positions. So I was pleasantly surprised to see how professionally Kentucky’s House of Representatives on the Local Government Committee handled a hearing on SB6 on February 9. This proposed Kentucky law would create 5 felony laws that would affect even church volunteers, unknowingly helping undocumented immigrants. According to federal laws, being undocumented is a misdemeanor.

The Kentucky Council of Churches, the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Kentucky Sheriff’s Association spoke against it. Law enforcement felt that it would be costly to fund the necessary training for officers before they could arrest any suspected undocumented immigrant. This was made especially clear when Marilyn Daniel, an immigration attorney from Lexington, testified that it would be difficult and time-consuming for police officers to determine someone’s immigration status, especially since that status is often not reflected on an immigrant’s paperwork.