MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy is raising concerns about recent immigration enforcement activity in the Memphis area, arguing that fear within immigrant communities could discourage victims and witnesses from cooperating with police and prosecutors.
Mulroy issued a statement addressing what he described as growing concern, particularly among Latino and immigrant residents in Shelby County.
He said immigration status should not prevent authorities from holding people accountable for serious or violent crimes, but argued that broader immigration enforcement can have consequences for criminal investigations.
“For prosecutors, that fear has real public-safety consequences,” Mulroy said. “We need people to report crimes, provide tips, serve as witnesses and participate in the justice system.”
Mulroy said people who fear that contact with law enforcement could expose themselves or relatives to immigration enforcement may be less willing to cooperate.
“When people fear that contact with law enforcement could put themselves or their families at risk, crimes become harder to investigate and cases become harder to prosecute,” he said.
The district attorney also used the statement to outline what he described as important legal distinctions involving immigration enforcement.
Mulroy said U.S. citizens are not generally required to carry or present identification simply because an officer requests it and cannot be detained solely on suspicion that they are unlawfully in the country. Noncitizens, he said, can be subject to requirements to carry and present certain immigration documentation.
He also distinguished between illegally entering the United States and remaining in the country without lawful status. Mulroy noted that unlawful entry can constitute a criminal misdemeanor, while overstaying a visa is generally handled as a civil immigration violation.
Federal authorities can also execute valid warrants authorizing searches or arrests, he said.
“But not everything law enforcement is legally permitted to do is necessarily a good idea,” Mulroy said.
Mulroy argued that large-scale immigration enforcement can separate families and affect people who otherwise have no criminal record. He said recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations have generated significant fear within local Latino and immigrant communities.
His comments come as Shelby County has experienced what Mulroy described as a 10-quarter decline in crime. He said eight of those quarters occurred before the arrival of a federal task force.
Mulroy said maintaining that decline depends in part on residents being willing to work with law enforcement.
“Public safety and responsible enforcement are not competing goals,” Mulroy said. “We can hold people accountable when they commit crimes while also recognizing when enforcement practices may make that work more difficult.”
