Dean Johnson Comments on Deportation for Bee
Dean Kevin R. Johnson commented for the Sacramento Bee on the deportation of a Lodi couple following a domestic disturbance last month. Local police turned the undocumented immigrants over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following a fight that was reported to police by a relative. The couple were charged with felony domestic violence, and although they were not tried or convicted, they were quickly deported to Mexico, leaving behind a two-year-old and infant.
"This deportation scenario is all too common. It illustrates the potential pitfalls of local police cooperating with immigration authorities," said Dean Johnson. "Immigrant women in particular are going to underreport domestic violence, and generally, immigrant communities are going to be less likely to cooperate with police for fear of being deported."
Dean Johnson said that had the couple not been charged with felonies, the deportation might not have occurred. "ICE might not even have picked up on this because they're focusing on felonies," he said. "But there's an incentive to charge them with the maximum and get them deported so you don't ever have to deal with the criminal charges."
Kevin R. Johnson is Dean and Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o studies at UC Davis School of Law. He is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of immigration law and policy, refugee law, and civil rights.