Report: Santa Clara Poised to Deport Arrested Illegal Immigrants

Change in no-hold policy likely, newspaper reports

By Chris Roberts
Monday, Nov 4, 2013 | Updated 1:37 PM PST

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NBC 7 San Diego
Santa Clara County may end a two-year old practice of declining to cooperate with immigration officials when San Jose police and other local authorities detain an illegal immigrant.

Santa Clara may reverse a two-year old policy of releasing "jailed illegal immigrants" rather than holding them for deportation, according to reports.

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to review the policy on holding undocumented suspects at its meeting Tuesday, according to the San Jose Mercury News -- and there may be enough support to see the policy abandoned, the newspaper reported.

After years of siding with progressive groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and not cooperating with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Santa Clara County may end "one of the nation's most lenient immigration policies" and begin handing over undocumented arrestees -- at least those who are suspected of violent crimes -- to ICE because of "three recent developments," the newspaper reported.

Currently, Santa Clara does not detain illegal immigrants arrested for a crime unless ICE pays for the hold - which it refuses to do.

But San Francisco last month adopted a less lenient policy, the newspaper reported, and the passage of the statewide Trust Act allows counties to release illegal immigrants arrested for minor crimes -- but may detain those charged with serious felonies.

Lastly, there are two new members on the Board of Supervisors who are likely to side with stricter policies, the newspaper reported.

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