Group concerned over collaboration between ICE and CA. local law enforcement
Posted: Jul 27, 2015 7:07 PM PDT Updated: Jul 27, 2015 9:33 PM PDT
Group concerned over collaboration between ICE and local law enforcement
By Charlie Misra CONNECT
Local organization Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy, or CAUSE, is concerned about how much cooperation U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will get from local law enforcement now that an ICE facility just opened in Santa Maria. (CA.)
There is new focus on this after a Cal Poly grad was shot and killed in San Francisco a few weeks ago by a man who had been deported several times prior.
ICE is in Santa Maria, and by 2018, the North Santa Barbara County Jail could be ready, too.
"We also look to our county sheriff and the sheriff's department, to ensure that our local resources and tax dollars are not being used to do ICE's bidding," said CAUSE organizer Hazel Davalos.
CAUSE says it is concerned about ICE's new Priority Enforcement Program, which asks jails to tell federal agents when prisoners who are believed to be in the country illegally are being released.
"If anybody who comes into contact for any crime is ending up in the hands of ICE, then families are needlessly being separated while more serious criminals are staying here," Davalos said.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown says he hopes to find a middle ground.
"In those limited instances where someone has committed a serious crime, is a returning felon, something along those lines, we will notify ICE," Brown said.
"We want to have the trust of the Hispanic community," Sheriff Brown said. "We want make sure that they understand that our interest is not to single out someone who is perhaps undocumented, but lives in our community, gets into a minor scrape with the law, but is otherwise not a career criminal or a dangerous criminal."
Both sides say they have met a few times to discuss concerns, and that the talks have been productive.
"We need to strike that balance," Davalos said. "If we have to prioritize, how do we do that? And it's up to us in the community to have hard conversations and find the solutions."
In the past, the sheriff's department was allowed to hold inmates three days past their release date if their immigration status was in question, so ICE could pick them up. But after California passed a new law, and a separate federal court decision was made in Oregon in early 2014, that "detainer" system is no longer allowed.
The City of Santa Maria clarified today that it is not a "sanctuary city" such as San Francisco, which follows certain procedures that shelter illegal immigrants. There are no sanctuary cities on the Central Coast.
In an email to KSBY, ICE spokesperson Lori Haley said:
“ICE continues to work cooperatively with our local law enforcement partners throughout the country to develop policies and procedures that best represent all agencies’ efforts to uphold public safety. The Department of Homeland Security is in the process of implementing a new initiative called the Priority Enforcement Program - PEP for short - which supports community policing while ensuring ICE takes custody of dangerous criminals before they are released into the community.
ICE is now issuing detainers and requests for notification with respect to individuals who meet our heightened enforcement priorities under PEP to ensure individuals who pose a threat to public safety are not released from prisons or jails into our communities.
PEP is a balanced, common-sense approach, that places the focus where it should be: on criminals and individuals who threaten the public safety. ICE is committed to working with its law enforcement partners in California and nationwide to achieve that mission."
Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover also sent KSBY the following information on the North County Jail:
"The new Northern Branch Jail is projected to open in mid-2018 and the S.T.A.R. facility is set to open a year later in mid-2019.
The projected cost to operate both the Northern Branch Jail and Sheriff's Treatment and Reentry facilities is estimated to be $ 18.1 Million. This does not include any cost to operate the Santa Barbara County Main Jail.
There will be 109 total staff members including Custody Sworn and Professional Staff. The employees will be comprised of new hires and the reallocation of existing resources.
The Northern Branch Jail will have 344 rated beds and 32 Special Use Beds for a total of 376 beds. The S.T.A.R. Complex will have 228 rated beds.
As for how many inmates will be transferred - We will not know how many exactly, but the intent will be to put as many inmates there that meet the classification guidelines for the facilities. Priority will be the safety of staff, inmates and community. There will be a need to maintain flexibility in housing and the optimal goal for population numbers will be 85% of available beds. We currently have 905 inmates physically incarcerated in our facilities that have 850 rated beds. Thus we are currently operating at 106 % of our rated capacity."
http://www.ksby.com/story/29645174/g...aw-enforcement
