Thread: Feds fail to control local cops with immigration power

Published: April 2, 2010
Updated: April 3, 2010 10:03 a.m.

Feds fail to control local cops with immigration power

By TERI SFORZA
tsforza@ocregister.com

Former Sheriff Mike Carona once boasted that Orange County, CA. turned over more inmates for deportation than any other jail in the nation. Costa Mesa’s mayor offered no apologies for checking the immigration status of jaywalkers and disorderly drunks who hadn’t even been arrested.

Now – more than two years after OC Watchdogs investigated U.S. efforts to deport undocumented immigrants accused of crimes, and one year after a U.S. Governmental Accountability Office report concluded that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement failed to supervise the “287(g)â€

Former Sheriff Mike Carona once boasted that Orange County, CA. turned over more inmates for deportation than any other jail in the nation. Costa Mesa’s mayor offered no apologies for checking the immigration status of jaywalkers and disorderly drunks who hadn’t even been arrested.

Sounds like the program is working just fine to me.

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Former Sheriff Mike Carona once boasted that Orange County, CA. turned over more inmates for deportation than any other jail in the nation. Costa Mesa’s mayor offered no apologies for checking the immigration status of jaywalkers and disorderly drunks who hadn’t even been arrested.

Sounds like the program is working just fine to me.

It is JD! That's the problem, as the OC Register has never met an illegal invader it didn't champion for.

AZ. Audit: ICE oversight of police fell short
by Daniel González -
Apr. 3, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic .

A federal program that enlists local police agencies to enforce immigration laws has grown rapidly without ensuring police follow federal priorities and without adequate safeguards to prevent civil-rights abuses, according to a Department of Homeland Security report.

The report, issued Friday by Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General, said the program has given the federal government a major boost to remove illegal immigrants from the United States.

But it identified a long list of problems with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement program known as 287(g).

The report focused on problems in 2009, before ICE revamped the program last fall, and the agency says the program has gotten better.

Nearly 70 agencies, including nine in Arizona, have signed onto the program since 2002, most of them in the past three years.

Under the program, local officers are given training to identify probable cause to question crime suspects about their immigration status and are empowered to arrest and detain illegal immigrants. The program also trains jail and prison officials to check the immigration status of inmates using federal databases.

The report cited problems stemming from a lack of oversight, supervision and training by ICE of local law-enforcement agencies, including failing to properly vet the backgrounds of some officers as required.

ICE's main priority is catching and deporting illegal immigrants who pose the greatest risk to the public, including those arrested for major drug offenses and violent crimes such as murder, rape, robbery or kidnapping.

But a sampling of 280 illegal immigrants identified through the program found that only 26, or 9 percent, were accused of major drug offenses or violent crimes. "These results do not show that 287(g) resources have been focused on aliens who pose the greatest risk to the public," the report said.

The report said that several law-enforcement agencies participating in the program have been accused of civil-rights abuses.

The report made reference to one jurisdiction that is the subject of an ongoing racial-profiling lawsuit related to the program, as well as a lawsuit from a detained immigrant alleging physical abuse, a Department of Justice investigation into allegations of discriminatory police practices, and other abuses. The report did not identify the agency but was clearly referring to allegations recently made against the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. The claims of civil-right abuses stem from a series of crime sweeps conducted by Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Several civil-rights organizations said the report confirmed that the entire program should be scrapped.

"The OIG report's message is clear," said Cecilia Wang of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project. "ICE can no longer stand by idly while local agencies use their 287(g) agreements as cover to engage in the rampant abuse of people's constitutional rights."

People should not be stopped "for no other reason than they 'look foreign' to a police officer," Wang said.

Salvador Reza, an immigrant-rights advocate from Phoenix, agreed.

Two weeks ago, Reza led a caravan from Phoenix to Washington, D.C., calling on the Department of Homeland Security to terminate the 287(g) program. He says some police officers are targeting Latinos and booking them into Maricopa County jails for minor crimes just to check their immigration status.

Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for ICE, said the report is based on a review Homeland Security inspectors conducted in the first half of 2009. Since then, ICE has made "significant progress" in addressing issues raised in the report, she said.

The agency released a new 287(g) agreement last July that requires law-enforcement agencies to pursue all criminal charges against illegal immigrants taken into custody to prevent officers from arresting people as a pretext for checking their immigration status.

The agency also issued new guidelines for supervising local law-enforcement agencies and beefed up training of local officers participating in the program.

In October, all law-enforcement agencies participating in the program were required to sign new agreements. At the time, John Morton, head of ICE, said the new agreements were intended to make it clear the program's main priority was going after the worst criminal offenders.

Morton also announced that ICE had taken away the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office's authority to arrest illegal immigrants on the street under the program. The office retains authority under the program to check the immigration status of people booked into the jail.

More than 143,000 illegal immigrants have been identified for deportation as a result of the program in the past five years, according to the Homeland Security report.

Since fiscal 2006, the amount of money ICE has allocated to the program has grown from $5 million to $68 million this year.

The report acknowledged that ICE has made improvements to the program since 2009, including setting a three-tiered priority system for arresting and detaining illegal immigrants based on the severity of their offenses. "These measures represent positive steps in establishing a more effective program," the report said. "However, significant challenges in administering the 287(g) program continue to exist."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... ogram.html

Sounds like it is working to me and sounds like the police are trying to do their job!

I know that is a problem for some people.

"The OIG report's message is clear," said Cecilia Wang of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project. "ICE can no longer stand by idly while local agencies use their 287(g) agreements as cover to engage in the rampant abuse of people's constitutional rights."

"Constitutional rights" are for the protection of AMERICAN CITIZENS, not foreign illegal aliens. These invading hoardes have no USA nationally granted rights in my opinion, least of all the right to sneak into this country in the first place. They only beg for privileges and we could save billions by cutting those off.

ICE's main priority is catching and deporting illegal immigrants who pose the greatest risk to the public, including those arrested for major drug offenses and violent crimes such as murder, rape, robbery or kidnapping.

Main priority is not the same as only priority. As being in the country illegally is a deportable offense, I see no problem with a one way ticket to their home country for all illegals.

The report made reference to one jurisdiction that is the subject of an ongoing racial-profiling lawsuit related to the program

You go Sheriff Joe! Great job. There's no doubt in my mind which jurisdiction they're targeting - the most successful. The one that's approved of by American citizens.

These folks are just looking for any excuse to shut down law enforcement against illegals. After all, laws are for other people, not for them.

Texas version of these articles at

Screening for jailed immigrants criticized

http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-1038214.html#1038214

[quote]The Not-So-Good: â€

It's time for all States to pass their own Immigration laws like Arizona is and to hell with the Federal Government since they obviously don't want to enforce our laws.