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Issue: Sanctuary
June 11, 2006

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Foes of illegal immigration say some cities have "sanctuary policies" that discourage or prohibit police from reporting suspected illegal immigrants.

A state law that went into effect May 1 requires law enforcement to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement when they arrest a suspected illegal immigrant. Domestic violence arrests are excluded to ensure that fear of immigration agents doesn't deter victims from calling police.

But the News investigation found that whether sanctuary policies exist or are banned is a moot issue in practical terms because ICE lacks the space or resources to detain and deport all the immigrants brought to its attention now.

BACKGROUND

The debate over sanctuary policies intensified last summer when Raul Gomez-Garcia, an illegal immigrant, was accused of killing Denver police officer Donnie Young. Gomez-Garcia previously had been stopped for traffic violations, which don't routinely involve questioning immigration status. Among the loudest voices were U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, who insists Denver has a sanctuary policy, and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, who insists it does not.

Those who say Denver has a sanctuary policy often point to a 1998 executive order by former Mayor Wellington Webb saying immigrants' rights should be respected. But a written Denver police policy says only that officers should not initiate actions for the purpose of checking immigration status. It does not prohibit notifying ICE about suspected illegal immigrants who are arrested, and Denver sends ICE the names of jailed foreign-born inmates. So do other counties in Colorado.

WHAT LOCAL OFFICIALS SAY

The News found that some local law-enforcement officials indeed fail to turn in immigrants, including some criminals they know are here illegally. But it has nothing to do with any sanctuary policy.

Rather, they say they know ICE lacks the people or places to deal with them, a message ICE officials have delivered personally. And local jails are too full to hold them while deportation orders are processed.

"There is the expectation from the citizens that when we are in contact with an illegal alien, they have already demonstrated they have broken federal law (and) we should be detaining that individual and turning them over to ICE," said El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa. "The reality is that ICE doesn't have the personnel to process them nor the facilities to hold them. That's a breakdown in the system."

Police routinely check the National Crime Information Center database to see whether a person is wanted for a past crime. The database includes immigration warrants.

"Do local officers check that 100 percent of the time? I hope so," said Chris Olson, with the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police. But not all 14,000 certified peace officers in the state are trained to look for that information, he said.

Denver assistant city attorney David Broadwell said police officers check the database during routine stops and arrest anyone wanted by immigration officials.

Local officials are still working out how to notify ICE about suspected illegal immigrants who are charged with misdemeanors but not jailed.

WHAT ICE SAYS

"There aren't any cities in Colorado that refuse to call us," said Carl Rusnok, ICE spokesman for Colorado. "I know of no Colorado city that has a policy against calling ICE."

- Laura Frank, Burt Hubbard

Copyright 2006, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.