Letter to the Hon. Cory Booker, United States Senator, to the Hon. Tim Scott, United States Senator, to the Hon. Karen Bass, United States Representative - Rep. García, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Calls for Reforms to Address Police Violence Affecting Latino Communities

Letter

Dear Senator Booker, Senator Scott, and Representative Bass:

As Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), we write to you regarding the ongoing negotiations on the Justice in Policing Act. America's Black and Latino communities suffer disproportionately from police violence and militarization, and we commend you and the Congressional Black Caucus for your dedication to police reform.

The reforms included in the House-passed version of the Justice in Policing Act, such as ending or limiting qualified immunity and banning chokeholds and no-knock warrants, have tremendous potential to keep our communities safer from police violence. As negotiations on a final bill continue, we want to highlight ways in which some of the proposed reforms would be particularly
impactful for Latino communities:

- De-militarization of local law enforcement: We urge you to consider measures to demilitarize law enforcement against immigrant communities, like limiting the Department of Defense's 1033
Program.

The vilification of immigrant communities has led to increased surveillance operations and arrests by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, often in collaboration with local police. Raids and mass arrests targeting predominately immigrant communities, which often occur in schools or the workplace, erode trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement. Furthermore, the use of military grade weapons and vehicles acquired through the 1033 program in raids and arrests escalate tense situations and increase the risk of violence.

- Diversity in police forces: As you consider measures to make police forces more
reflective of the communities they serve and their unique needs, we urge you to consider
language diversity as an important factor in reducing communication barriers between
police and Latino communities.

- Demographic Reporting: We strongly support the establishment of a national reporting
standard for police use of force. As this topic is addressed, it is crucial to consider the difficulties that federal agencies have historically faced when collecting demographic data on Latino communities. To separate race and ethnicity is a difficult question for many Latino individuals; it also results in undercounts and erasure of Latino representation in data collection on safety net programs, COVID-19 cases, and the Census. Even with a national reporting standard, these challenges must be addressed to gain an accurate understanding of police violence in Latino communities.

Again, we deeply appreciate your sustained work on police reform and your diligence in the
current negotiations. We look forward to our continued alliance against systemic inequity and for
a future where Black and Latino communities can be safer from police violence.

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