Thread: Homeland Security suspends immigration agreements with Arizona police

Homeland Security suspends immigration agreements with Arizona police

By Stephen Dinan
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The Washington Times
Monday, June 25, 2012

The Obama administration said Monday it is suspending existing agreements with Arizona police over enforcement of federal immigration laws, and said it has issued a directive telling federal authorities to decline many of the calls reporting illegal immigrants that the Homeland Security Department may get from Arizona police.

Administration officials, speaking on condition they not be named, told reporters they expect to see an increase in the number of calls they get from Arizona police — but that won’t change President Obama’s decision to limit whom the government actually tries to detain and deport.

“We will not be issuing detainers on individuals unless they clearly meet our defined priorities,” one official said in a telephone briefing.

The official said that despite the increased number of calls, which presumably means more illegal immigrants being reported, the Homeland Security Department is unlikely to detain a significantly higher number of people and won’t be boosting personnel to handle the new calls.

“We do not plan on putting additional staff on the ground in Arizona,” the official said.

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that Arizona may not impose its own penalties for immigration violations, but it said state and local police could check the legal status of those they have reasonable suspicion to believe are in the country illegally.

That means police statewide can immediately begin calling to check immigration status — but federal officials are likely to reject most of those calls.

Federal officials said they’ll still perform the checks as required by law but will respond only when someone has a felony conviction on his or her record. Absent that, ICE will tell the local police to release the person.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said the court’s decision frees police up to perform immigration checks. In anticipation of the ruling, she issued an executive order calling for guidance to be issued to every police department on how to fairly carry out the law.

“We will move forward, instructing law enforcement to begin practicing what the United States Supreme Court has upheld,” she said.

But the Obama administration is under pressure from immigrant-rights groups to cut down on the number of people it is deporting and has taken a number of steps to try to limit deportations of rank-and-file illegal immigrants and focus instead on those with criminal records or repeated immigration violations.

Last week, Mr. Obama said he would halt deportations for most illegal immigrants under 30 who were brought here as children.

On Monday the administration officials also said they are ending the seven 287(g) task force agreements with Arizona law enforcement officials, which proactively had granted some local police the powers to enforce immigration laws.

The task forces, named for the section of law that allows them, have proved popular among many localities but have been a political headache for the Obama administration, with immigrant-rights groups saying they led to abuses.

On Monday the administration officials said they had concluded the seven agreements they had signed with various departments in Arizona weren’t working and took the Supreme Court’s ruling as a chance to scrap them.

Homeland Security suspends immigration agreements with Arizona police - Washington Times

Feds suspend immigration enforcement program after Arizona court ruling

Published June 25, 2012
FoxNews.com

In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision on Arizona's immigration law, Obama administration officials announced Monday they are suspending in the state a key program that allowed state and local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration law.
The move further weakens efforts by Arizona, and potentially other states, to take the reins on immigration enforcement.
The high court decision Monday struck down three provisions in Arizona's law but left in place a central plank that required local law enforcement during routine stops to check the immigration status of anyone they suspect is in the country illegally.
Obama administration officials and congressional Democrats immediately raised concerns this could lead to "racial profiling," though Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer adamantly denies it. To address those concerns, Obama administration officials moved Monday to pull back on enforcement cooperation with local jurisdictions -- meaning that even if local police step up immigration checks, they'll have to rely on federal officials to make the arrests.
Federal officials said the program known as 287(g) would be immediately rescinded in Arizona. That program was a partnership between federal and local governments, and allowed local authorities to make immigration-based arrests.
Officials also said Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be selective in responding to the expected increase in calls from Arizona and other police agencies about immigration status of people they pull over. Officials said ICE will not respond to the scene unless the person in question meets certain criteria -- such as being wanted for a felony.




Read more: Feds suspend immigration enforcement program after Arizona court ruling | Fox News

Sounds like Obama is just rolling out the welcome mat for illegals to completely overrun Arizona. The immigration system has never been "broken" but the people that are supposed to enforcing it are incompetent with a self serving radical political agenda. JMO

The Obama administration said Monday it is suspending existing agreements with Arizona police over enforcement of federal immigration laws, and said it has issued a directive telling federal authorities to decline many of the calls reporting illegal immigrants that the Homeland Security Department may get from Arizona police.

My Lord - this pr1*k's hubris has no bounds. I am astounded. I know I shouldn't be given his past history, but I am. We have GOT to get rid of him/them.

outrageous! what happened to upholding the law?

So this means that federal authorities will only take up calls from Arizona law enforcement regarding an illegal if and only if the illegal in question has been involved in some sort violent/sexual crime or robbery? If there is a traffic violation and the police officer determines the individual is illegally here, then he can only issue a ticket because reporting the individual to federal authorities will result in nothing being done. Is this what's going on?

Obama is willing to go all the way including violent confrontation with states or American citizens if necessary to protect his illegal immigrant invasion of the United States.

W

Originally Posted by googler

So this means that federal authorities will only take up calls from Arizona law enforcement regarding an illegal if and only if the illegal in question has been involved in some sort violent/sexual crime or robbery? If there is a traffic violation and the police officer determines the individual is illegally here, then he can only issue a ticket because reporting the individual to federal authorities will result in nothing being done. Is this what's going on?

They said Felony only.

Whats going on is the administration is punishing the state of Ariziona for winning and that is just my opinion.

could always permanently seize their cars - no AZ license, no identification, no car - it's as simple as that.

Obama is a spoiled rotten brat stomping his feet because he didn't get his way! He should be ashamed of himself and i wish the justices could let him have it for this BS