Thread: Sanctuary cities and states may be facing legal action

Sanctuary cities may be facing legal action

Obama’s county among targets

By Stephen Dinan
The Washington Times
Tuesday, July 10, 2012

After eviscerating most of Arizona’s strict immigration law in court last month, the Obama administration is now considering going after the other side by suing sanctuary cities to force them to cooperate with federal deportation efforts, an agency chief told Congress on Monday.

John Morton, director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said he’s asked Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to take legal action against Cook County, President Obama’s home county in Illinois, to force it to turn over illegal immigrants for removal. He said he’s now awaiting a final answer from the Justice Department.

“They wanted to see how certain pieces of court decisions came out. I expect to hear from them shortly, and I can tell you that resolving the issue in Cook County is very important for me,” Mr. Morton testified to the House Homeland Security subcommittee on the border.

Cook County officials decided several years ago they did not want to cooperate with federal authorities’ immigration efforts and stopped providing them information that could help with deportations of those booked into county jails.

Last year, the county enacted an ordinance officially halting compliance except in the most major of cases, and then only after they reached a financial agreement with the federal government to cover the costs.

Mr. Morton said that’s effectively dried up all cooperation.

“Right now, it’s not a question of Cook County releasing some individuals to us,” he said. “They are releasing no individuals to us, including very violent offenders, and I just don’t think that’s good policy.”

Feds are fed up

The Justice Department declined to comment on whether it is prepared to sue, but Mr. Morton said he and Homeland Security Secretary Janet A. Napolitano are both pushing for action to force Cook County to comply.

The development could put Mr. Obama in a tough position. His administration moved quickly to sue Arizona and other states that enacted strict immigration laws over the past two years, arguing that only the federal government can set immigration policy. The Supreme Court last month agreed, overturning most of Arizona’s law — though not the part that lets police detain illegal immigrants for pickup by federal authorities.

Even as he sued strict-enforcement states, though, Mr. Obama has not taken action against Cook County, which contains his hometown of Chicago, nor has he acted against the handful of other localities that have said they’ll resist turning illegal immigrants over to the federal government.

A Cook County spokeswoman declined to comment Tuesday, saying the county hadn’t heard anything about having funding withdrawn or about negotiating with the Justice Department over compliance.

“We’ve not heard from anyone — ICE, Homeland Security, Justice,” said Liane Jackson, a spokeswoman for county board President Toni Preckwinkle.

Nationwide program

The detainer controversy dovetails with a broader concern over the Secure Communities program, created by Congress, which tries to check whether those arrested by police should be deported. Under Secure Communities, the fingerprint checks local police submit to the FBI are also checked against immigration databases, and if individuals are deemed priorities for deportation, the federal government asks that detainees be held.

Some states had tried to opt out of the fingerprint portion, but federal authorities said they have no choice.

Cook County is not yet covered by Secure Communities, but the program is expected to be running nationwide next year.

Mr. Morton told Congress the Obama administration has been trying to work the detainer issue out with Cook’s leaders, but said those conversations have gone nowhere.

“I won’t sugarcoat it. I don’t think that that approach is going to work. And in full, we’re going to need the help of others,” he said.

Crackdown on Cook County?

One option would be to withhold federal aid that goes to help counties that end up holding criminal aliens in their jails.

Cook County received more than $13 million in federal money under the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program from 2008 to 2011, putting it in the top 10 nationwide for SCAAP assistance.

But a spokesman for the county sheriff’s department said it estimates the number will drop to $460,000 for federal fiscal year 2012.

Applications for reimbursement were due to the Justice Department last week, and Mr. Morton said he’ll fight to cut Cook County’s money.

“My own position is going to be that if we do not have access to those individuals, we will not be able to verify their request for the year,” he said.

He got backing from both Democrats and Republicans on the subcommittee.

“They cannot say, you know, we don’t want you to do Secure Communities, but then at the same time they’re requesting federal dollars for holding those prisoners,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar, the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee.

Curtailing 287(g)

“Mr. Morton also defended his agency’s decision to end cooperation with local police in Arizona under the 287(g) program after the Supreme Court ruled on that state’s law last month.

Hours after the ruling, Homeland Security said it would no longer cooperate with a half-dozen state task forces that allowed local police to enforce federal immigration laws.

Rep. Benjamin Quayle, Arizona Republican, said the timing looked “political” coming so soon after the court ruled.

But Mr. Morton said most of the 287(g) agreements had failed to produce any illegal immigrants ICE deemed worthy of deportation, and said it was going to cancel them at the end of this year anyway. He said the court decision gave ICE a chance to act sooner.

“We knew we were going to terminate those agreements. They were producing no removals,” he said.

Sanctuary cities may be facing legal action - Washington Times

Immigration Officials Defend Secure Communities

• by Kevin Wang, Medill News Service
• July 10, 2012

Enlargephoto illustration by: Todd Wiseman

WASHINGTON – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton on Tuesday defended the agency’s controversial Secure Communities program, which opponents say is a form of racial profiling, and he called for more assistance from local jurisdictions in securing the border.

“It’s a very direct way to protect public safety in a lawful manner,” Morton told members of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security. “Remember, the only way you get identified by Secure Communities is to have been arrested in the first place for a crime.”

Congress created the Secure Communities program in 2008 as a pilot project to allow ICE agents to identify criminal aliens at the time of arrest. Texas launched the program the same year.
It allows ICE agents to use information such as fingerprints from a shared national criminal database to identify the status of suspects in local jails.

U.S. Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., the subcommittee’s chairwoman, said that while many immigrants come to the U.S. in search of better lives, the country also faces serious risks from those who enter “with less pure motivation and often prey on the innocent.”

“The truth is, despite the efforts and billions of dollars we spent on personnel, infrastructure and technology, drug and human smugglers and others are inevitably trying to find a way through,” Miller said.
Morton said Secure Communities works because the program puts special emphasis on illegal immigrants who have been arrested for breaking criminal laws.

But critics argue that the initiative has snared many illegal immigrants who have committed minor crimes.

In fiscal year 2009, only 88 jurisdictions nationwide had adopted the program. By fiscal year 2011, 97 percent of the country, or 1,595 jurisdictions, were participating in Secure Communities. Under the program,141,000 convicted criminals who entered the country illegally were deported.

Border security advocates point to cases like the one last week in South Texas, in which a father and son shot and injured an ICE agent, as emblematic of the need for local support. The agent, Kelton Harrison, was conducting surveillance related to a narcotics deal near Hargill.

Miller and Morton said they worried that because ICE prioritizes apprehension of the most dangerous criminals, the “low-level criminal” may escape because of limited agency resources.

“Sending a message that we are not going to bother with you unless you commit a serious crime is dangerous,” Miller said.
Immigration officials said they need local law enforcement to cooperate.

But in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last month rejecting key parts of a controversial Arizona immigration law, the Secure Communities program is also challenged.

In Illinois, Cook County, home to Chicago, adopted an ordinance that requires the county sheriff’s office to ignore ICE detaining orders and allow illegal immigrants to be bailed of jail.

Miller said Cook County’s approach to public safety is inconsistent with federal laws and would lead to more crime.
“It will become a magnet of all crimes,” Miller said.

Immigration Officials Defend Secure Communities — Immigration | The Texas Tribune

Nothing like waiting 90 days before the election ..

"But critics argue that the initiative has snared many illegal immigrants who have committed minor crimes."
Since when has that been a problem? That's what we want!!!!