Across the country, leftists have insisted that it is inappropriate for local authorities to inquire about the legal status of individuals whom they suspect are breaking the law. By and large, Democrat officials have asserted it sows distrust amongst immigrant communities with authorities and harms illegal aliens who would be hesitant to report crimes. Regardless of the merits of their argument — or lack thereof — the issue of the police officers’ race typically never comes into the equation.
However, on Tuesday night in Lewiston, Maine, Democratic City Councilwoman Safiya Khalid stated that white police officers could not accurately assess whether that specific question posed a problem for immigrant communities because white officers are not people of color.
Lewiston is Maine’s second-largest city and features a budding immigrant community. Recently, Khalid brought forth a proposed ordinance that “would have prohibited Lewiston police officers from ‘inquiring into the immigration status of any person and from engaging in activities for the purpose of ascertaining the immigration status of any person,’” according to Maine’s Sun Journal.
Lewiston’s Police Chief David St. Pierre stated that the city’s police officers rarely ask that question to begin with, except in the course of a suspected felony. He said the bill was a solution to a problem that simply does not exist.
According to local media, “Khalid pushed back, pointing out that the council and Police Department are largely white, and therefore not qualified to state that it’s not a problem in Lewiston.”
“How do you know there isn’t a problem if you are not marginalized, if you are not a (person of color)?” Khalid said.
Councilmember Lee Clement echoed St. Pierre’s sentiments, stating, “All I see is a solution looking for a problem, a problem I’ve not seen in law enforcement … [asking about immigration status is] something that’s not done by local law enforcement. They have enough on their plates.”
Khalid at that point claimed that “it’s ‘undeniable’ that people in Lewiston have previously suffered racist treatment from local law enforcement,” according to Sun Journal.
Lewiston’s Mayor Michael Cayer chimed in response to that statement that he “in no way believe[s] we have racist officers in our department.”
“If there is ever an issue I have confidence in our command staff to deal with it,” he added.
Later on, St. Pierre remarked that the proposal’s “language, in my opinion, portrays our local police department as one that perhaps demonstrates racist attitude, beliefs or policies which is certainly not accurate and would be destructive to officer morale.”
Khalid said St. Pierre did not like the proposal simply because it make officers “feel bad.”
“If that makes the officers feel bad they should find a new line of work,” she responded.
Ultimately, the council decided to turn her proposal down following the contentious debate.
Khalid is a Somalian refugee who was elected to her office in 2019 at age 23. Her comments come amidst a backdrop of national Democrats and other left-wing activists making similar denigrating comments about white men on other issues.