In case you missed it, Justin Bieber is in trouble with the law -- for late-night drag racing in Miami Beach, Florida. His arrest sparked so much national outrage from his supporters that #FreeBieber began trending on Twitter.
While the media continued to focus on whether or not he'll be deported back to his native Canada, the ACLU is also paying close attention to how Bieber's situation will play out. Too many other immigrants are detained and deported for lesser offenses than his. The United States' immigration enforcement system is broken.
That's why the ACLU of Maryland supports the Maryland Trust Act, state legislation that would restore community trust in local law enforcement by disentangling them from federal immigration enforcement.
The Trust Act would make clear that local jails should not hold people - who more often than not have been stopped for nothing more than a traffic violation or minor infraction - on the sole basis of an immigration detainer request.
Keep in mind that 84 percent of people in immigration detention are unlikely to have an immigration attorney or the money to afford one - unlike Bieber, who probably has enough to keep him safe.
We hope that "Beliebers" in Maryland take this opportunity to learn more about immigration reform. The reality for millions of people is that they will be unnecessarily deported - for far lesser offenses than his. It's time for our state to stop spending money and resources to participate in this broken immigration enforcement system.
Read the ACLU of Maryland report, Restoring Trust: How Immigration Detainers in Maryland Undermine Public Safety Through Unnecessary Enforcement.
Learn more about the ACLU of Maryland's immigrant's rights advocacy.
