City hopes to work with sheriff's department for immigration training

By Cindy Barks
The Daily Courier

Thursday, March 20, 2008



PRESCOTT - Yavapai County Sheriff Steve Waugh extended "the olive branch of cooperation" to Prescott this week on an issue that has stymied the city in recent months.

In a Tuesday presentation to the Prescott City Council, Waugh reported that his department recently had won approval for deputies to take the training U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement requires before local officers can enforce federal immigration laws, such as checking immigration status.

The approval procedure - "an arduous one at best," Waugh said - took the county about a year and a half to complete, and included three separate federal audits of the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office.

But ultimately, Waugh said his department received the approval to get federal immigration training for 10 officers. Of that total, he said, the county has moved forward with training for six detention officers. The officers currently taking the training should finish by early April, Waugh said.

Meanwhile, the city has been seeking the same approval for several police officers, but so far has not received the necessary federal authorization.

That situation led City Councilman Bob Roecker to ask Waugh whether the city could take advantage of the county's prior approval to get training for a city officer.

"Would you allow us to use one of your four (remaining) slots?" Roecker asked.

Waugh agreed, saying he would extend "the olive branch of cooperation, as long as you've jumped through all of the hoops." He added that he was uncertain when ICE class space might be available for the remaining four officers.

City Attorney Gary Kidd reported that the city has been working for more than a year on getting the necessary "memorandum of understanding" in effect between the city and the federal department.

"We sent the MOU to them last summer," Kidd said, adding that the department had responded by offering training positions for jail officers. At that point, Kidd said, "We explained to them that we don't have a jail." (The county operates the only jail in the area.)

In all, Kidd said the city had received at least four communications from the office of U.S. Homeland Security, all referring to training for jail officials. Currently, Kidd said, the agreement "is still in the pipeline."

Councilman Robert Luzius expressed frustration that the federal agency was not doing more to help the city get the training it needs, and he urged city officials to do what they could to move the process forward.

City Manager Steve Norwood responded that city officials understand the level of frustration. "The message is loud and clear, and we've heard it loud and clear," he said, adding, "It is not an easy process, and it's not a quick process."

Even so, Councilwoman Mary Ann Suttles was hopeful that a partnership with the sheriff's office could help the city achieve its goals on immigration enforcement.

"We're sort of at a stalemate," Suttles said. "The city's not there yet. But I'm pretty excited that we've got a partner that we can piggyback on."

Waugh said his department pursued the immigration training because "we feel we have a significant problem." Since April 2007, he said, the sheriff's office has transferred about 900 suspected illegal immigrants to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement department for deportation proceedings.

www.dcourier.com