The constitutional rights of lawyers are restricted a bit, because practicing law is a privilege, not a right, and that privilege may be burdened with a loss of what otherwise would be a constitutional right, but only to the extent necessary to serve what is considered a more important legitimate purpose. For example, a prosecutor's free speech right can be restricted to protect a defendant's right to a fair trial.
It's a privilege to be a police officer, so the constitutional rights of police officers may be restricted in order to serve a more important legitimate purpose.
But is it legitimate for a sanctuary city to try to restrict a police officer's right to report an undocumented alien to the federal government?
I submit that the answer is no, especially if the police officer makes such a report on his or her own time.
The First Amendment prohibits Congress from making a law that abridges "the right of the people...to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Police officers are people too.
A person who feels aggrieved by the unauthorized presence of another person in the country is entitled to petition the federal government to do something about it.
If that aggrieved person happens to be a police officer in a sanctuary city, should his or her right to report an undocumented alien to the federal government be abridged?
No, because there is no legitimate purpose, much less a more important legitimate purpose, that would justify such a restriction on the fundamental First Amendment right to petition for redress of a grievance.
The protections against governmental abuse of persons by the federal government set forth in the Bill of Rights were made applicable to state government abuse by the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Fourteenth Amendment states in part: "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States....nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
An undocumented alien may complain to the federal government about a police officer.
It's ridiculous for a state or a city to try to stop a police officer from complaining about an undocumented alien to the federal government.
It also is a denial of "the equal protection of the laws."
