ESCONDIDO: Police-ICE partnership will have written guidelines, chief says

By EDWARD SIFUENTES esifuentes@nctimes.com

Escondido's Police Department is developing a policy to guide its officers' activities under the department's controversial partnership with federal immigration authorities, said police Chief Jim Maher.

The partnership, called Operation Joint Effort, has been credited with the arrests of more than 800 criminal illegal immigrants in Escondido over the last two years.

It has been heavily criticized by immigrant and civil rights groups because they say police are alienating the city's immigrants, making them afraid to report crimes because they think they may be deported if they do.

Maher said such deportations are not happening.

The police chief and ICE officials said immigrants continue to report crimes, even approaching ICE officers for help, because officers have been told not to take action against illegal immigrants who have not committed any crimes.

There is no written policy, but the chief said Tuesday that he was working on it.

"ICE officers know exactly what our policy is," Maher said.

Scott Hamelin, ICE's assistant field office director in San Diego, oversees Operation Joint Effort for the agency. He said he was open to a written policy.

He said the ICE officers already adhere strictly to the program's rules because he would rather his officers focus on illegal immigrants who have committed crimes in the community than those who may simply be in the country, trying to earn a living.

The Escondido-ICE partnership grew out of another joint operation in which an ICE officer worked with the department on anti-gang efforts. But in May 2010, the two agencies decided to expand their collaboration to include other kinds of criminals.

Operation Joint Effort, which began with three immigration officers two years ago, has grown to eight ICE officers and one supervisor. The officers work out of the Escondido Police Department headquarters on Centre City Parkway. They have about 10 office cubicles with phones and computers and a small office where the ICE supervisor works.

Unlike other government partnerships, there is no written agreement between the two agencies. Hamelin said he saw no need for a written agreement when the program began, because there are no funds exchanged.

Since the program started, 819 illegal immigrants have been arrested, including people with drunken-driving convictions, drug-related crimes, thefts and sex-related crimes.

Maher said only people who have been convicted of a previous crime are eligible to be turned over to ICE officers.

The chief said only those who have been lawfully stopped or detained by a police officer can be considered, not victims of crimes.

Maher said the criteria that officers use to identify someone in the country illegally are:
•The individual admits to being in the country illegally;
•An individual is recognized by the officer as an illegal immigrant from previous encounters;
•The officer discovers in a computer check that the person has an immigration record;
•The person has no government-issued ID card or record of it in any government database.

In a records request, the North County Times asked for the names of all the people arrested under Operation Joint Effort. The Police Department said it does not keep that information.

Maher said he gets statistical information on the program, as well as individual case information, from ICE.

On Tuesday, Maher said he would try to obtain and release the information requested by the North County Times.

Maher said he would also ask ICE to see if the agency would be willing to track information about people who are referred to them but are not arrested or deported, such as people who are later determined to be in the country legally.

ESCONDIDO: Police-ICE partnership will have written guidelines, chief says : Escondido