http://www.insidedenver.com/drmn/local/ ... 22,00.html

Immigration agents will be given list of foreign-born inmates

By Lou Kilzer, Rocky Mountain News
June 3, 2005

Denver will begin providing federal immigration authorities with a list of all known foreign-born inmates in the county jail, Safety Manager Al LaCabe said Thursday.

The change follows two days of discussions with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials about what the city could do to aid its agents.

In turn, LaCabe said, ICE will assign special agents to review the list.

Federal agents in the past could receive a list of Denver inmates, but a separate list naming those who were foreign born was not provided.

The policy change comes after the Rocky Mountain News reported that in mid-May only 35 of more than 270 foreign-born inmates in the country jail had federal immigration holds.

How many of those without holds might have been in the country illegally is not known.

But several had extensive criminals records.

That some of those might slip through the cracks and remain in the country illegally has become a political hot potato after Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo charged that Denver has a sanctuary policy toward illegal immigrants.

LaCabe said the list the sheriff's department will now provide federal agents will include the names, charges, and dates and places of birth of all foreign-born inmates.

The city has been reluctant to get into illegal immigration issues, saying that is a federal responsibility.

Under the new policy, that responsibility won't change, but it may aid federal investigators to have a more-detailed list.

The city has compiled lists of foreign nationals in order to inform an inmate's consulate.

They were not compiled to share with federal agents.

Tancredo made his sanctuary charge following the slaying of Denver police Detective Donnie Young by an illegal immigrant.

The accused shooter in that case, Raul Garcia-Gomez, had some minor traffic tickets on his record.

The new procedure would not have aided in that case, since Garcia-Gomez was never incarcerated. Indeed, a review of the 270 foreign-born inmates in the county jail show that most are suspected of crimes more serious than traffic citations.

The city denied Tancredo's charge concerning sanctuary status, but the issue of how Denver handles suspected illegal immigrants has been anything but clear in recent weeks.

A Denver police policy says suspected illegal immigrants would be reported to immigration authorities.

But officials later said the police manual did not apply to the sheriff's department, which had a policy of not providing a specific list to federal agents.

The matter was further muddled when federal agents said they had received some information about foreign nationals in the county jail "through the back door."

With the new policy, they will receive all the information through the front door.

"We are satisfied with the new procedure," LaCabe said.

Jeff Copp, special agent in charge of the regional ICE office, has said receiving the list from the city would make his job "a lot easier."

kilzerl@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2644