Thread: N. Texas police may tackle immigration enforcement

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N. Texas police may tackle immigration enforcement

Initiative trains officers to process, detain criminals


11:35 PM CDT on Friday, October 6, 2006

By ERIC AASEN and DIANE JENNINGS / The Dallas Morning News

On top of working the streets, chasing the bad guys and hauling criminals to jail, North Texas police agencies could soon add another job to the mix: immigration officer.

Irving and Farmers Branch officials are studying a federal initiative that trains law enforcement to process and detain illegal immigrants.

And Houston police announced this week – after an illegal immigrant was arrested in the fatal shooting of a police officer – that they would work more closely with federal officials to identify illegal immigrants under arrest.

The federal initiative that Irving and Farmers Branch are studying – the 287(g) immigration enforcement program – would allow police departments to determine whether illegal immigrants who have committed crimes are eligible for immigration removal proceedings. The agencies also could access immigration databases to determine a person's identity and immigration status, and begin processing immigrants' removal from the country.

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First, the agencies would be trained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on immigration law, civil rights and issues surrounding racial profiling.

Local officials considering joining the program say they may opt in over safety concerns and because Congress has failed to enact significant immigration reform. Critics say the efforts are politically driven and could lead to intimidation and racism.

ICE has received 10 queries from Texas entities about the initiative, although no Texas law enforcement agencies have undergone training. ICE has received about 200 inquiries from various agencies nationwide, and there's been an upswing in interest in the last year, said Robert J. Hines, who coordinates the Immigration and Customs Enforcement initiative.

In North Texas, Farmers Branch is expecting a briefing this month about the 287(g) program, said City Council member Tim O'Hare, who has received widespread attention for proposing an ordinance that would limit where illegal immigrants live and work in his city.

"A city ought to take care of its citizens," he said. "We owe it to our community to look at it and explore it and see if it's a good idea."

The Irving City Council is scheduled for a program briefing Wednesday, Mayor Herbert Gears said. He said he's "open to any measure that removes criminals from our society."

Mr. Gears said federal officials take criminals out of the city jail each week. But he said he would make up his mind on the federal initiative based on feedback from Irving police.

Mr. Hines said: "It's hard to point a finger to say it's a bad thing when you're moving criminal aliens out of the country."

Some agencies say they're already working with federal officials to hunt down illegal immigrants with criminal backgrounds. Others wonder whether they have enough manpower to expand such efforts.

And others question whether cities, counties and states should tackle immigration policy, long considered a federal issue.

"The issue is that if people who are here, whether illegally or legally, are afraid of the police, they're not only afraid of the police, they're afraid of all government officials," said Maida Asofsky, Houston regional director for the American Civil Liberties Union. "So what happens is that people are hesitant to get the services they need," such as education and health care.

Irving petition
In Irving, immigrants made up one-third of the city's population in 2005, the largest percentage among North Texas' biggest cities, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Irving resident Sue Richardson is circulating a petition that urges the City Council to enroll Irving in the 287(g) effort. She said she isn't "going after any race or any culture." She's concerned about the effects of illegal immigration on the country, especially the financial costs.

Carlos Quintanilla, a Dallas member of the League of United Latin American Citizens, understands the desire to apprehend violent criminals. But he worries that increased immigration enforcement by local police is a waste of money and could lead to racial profiling.

"You don't deport people for simply running a red light," he said. "You deport people for killing and raping and committing armed robberies."

Other cities are taking different steps. After an illegal immigrant was charged with killing Houston police officer Rodney Johnson last month during a traffic stop, that city's police department announced it would work more closely with federal officials to identify illegal immigrants involved in crimes by asking people under arrest about their place of birth.

The announcement brings Houston in line with most of the rest of Texas, state law enforcement officials said, and Houston-area LULAC officials applauded the move.

"It's going to be fair and equal treatment for everyone," said Jose L. Jimenez, deputy director for LULAC in Houston.

All Houston arrestees will be subjected to an automatic fingerprint identity system. Individuals who are wanted by immigration officials will be held for federal officials, who will have "full access" to the city jail.

Mr. Jimenez said LULAC helped craft the policy because "if they're a criminal, we want to get them off the street, whether they're Hispanic or not."

Alvin Wright, public information officer for the Houston Police Department, said innocent immigrants don't need to worry.

"We're not going to go out and pick up people because they're just standing around," he said. "We're not going to stop people and say 'Hey, you look Hispanic; let me see your ID.' That's not how it operates."

Standard procedures
Asking questions about place of birth during the booking process and running background checks is largely standard operating procedure, said Adan Muñoz, executive director of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards and former sheriff of Kleberg County.

Access to jails by federal authorities also isn't unusual. In some counties, particularly in South Texas, federal officials check county jails daily for illegal immigrants. They also check the Tarrant County jail regularly, a county official said.

In Plano, questions about citizenship come up after an arrest is made. The information allows officials to determine how many offenses and what types of crimes are being committed by non-U.S. citizens, compared with citizens, Officer David Tilley said. After performing a criminal background check, Plano officers use their own discretion on how to proceed.

"Personally, if I get back a criminal history on them that's relatively extensive or violent in nature, I'll go ahead and notify Immigration," Officer Tilley said. "If they don't have a criminal history, I don't usually notify Immigration."

Dallas officers don't ask arrestees about their citizenship, but jail book-in sheets ask arrestees where they were born, said Lt. Rick Watson, Dallas police spokesman.

"It's never been our policy" to ask about immigration status, he said. "We want people to contact the police if they need assistance. If we start asking people what their citizenship is, this will basically discourage people regarding crimes."

It's up to federal officials to pursue immigration violations, said Sigifredo Gonzalez, Zapata County sheriff. He isn't enthused about federal programs that would allow local law enforcement to take on more immigration responsibilities.

"If we start enforcing law, we're going to have to put them in our local jails," he said. "This is a burden that local taxpayers have to come up with."

Terry Grisham, executive administrator for the Tarrant County sheriff's office, questions whether the department should take on additional missions that traditionally rest with the federal government.

"We could not operate a jail effectively and conduct our primary mission if we became overrun with federal prisoners," Mr. Grisham said. "No one's going to investigate a burglary ... or maintain prisoners in our jail if we don't do it."

Staff writer Tiara M. Ellis contributed to this report.

E-mail eaasen@dallasnews.com and djennings@dallasnews.com


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This is a good thing as the illegals won't be slipping through the cracks. In Miami-Dade County, if an illegal tells the police they are or if that question arises, ICE is notified immediately. That way officers don't have to worry about any potential errors in the favor of the illegal.

"You don't deport people for simply running a red light," he said. "You deport people for killing and raping and committing armed robberies."

WRONG! You deport people for having illegally entered and remained in this country. You kill them by lethal injection or give them life at hard labor for killing, raping, or committing armed robbery. What part of that do our domestic Hispanic apologists not get?

Whether they are legal or not, they don't get it! I have seen this in person and on the news. One example would be a Hispanic male who was handcuffed, placed in the back seat and took off in a detective's car. the guy drove off handcuffed and his Hispanic friends helped him out and he got away. The car was found a short distance away. They found him hiding out at his parent's place on Easter Sunday so the swat team raided the house and tasered him in the shower as he fought back. The guy was initially arrested for violent crime but yet his family was angry at the police for arresting him and swore at the media the whole time. Another really sick example is a woman who shot and killed a 13 year who was swimming in the apartment complex pool where her husband was a manager. The teenager was not allowed to be there as he did not live there. She was arrested and got out on bail and took off. Approximately 30 years later she returned to Hialeah (a city in Dade County) and someone recognized her and called the police. She was arrested, went to trial and is now in jail. She was really angry at her sentence and felt it was too long as she is now a senior citizen. Then there is the serial rapist who was caught and escaped prison. There were once again his fellow Hispanic women who brought him food and money. He was on the run for about a week before he was recaptured. This sicko raped young teens as well as older women! He went to trial and you guessed it; spoke no English. His abetors were apprehended and are now serving time as well.
When I was with the Career Criminals section in the county we were looking for people who made criminal registration. The close to 2,000 criminals arrested after the Mariel boat lift from Cuba, have been released after serving time for crimes such as rape and miurder. Most of them have returned to South Florida and made criminal registration. The majority of these outstanding citizens could not be found at the addresses they gave. Some gave other people's addresses right off the start and others gave streets and numbers that would be in the middle of a road, or a road that does not exsist or better yet in the middle of a canal. More and more I am seeing that whether they are legal or not we should not allow anymore in.