Police chief defends his immigration law stance

Hurtt says HPD won’t train to help ICE enforce federal policy

JAMES PINKERTON

While a growing number of police agencies across the country have received federal training to enforce immigration laws, Houston’s police chief maintained a strong stance Thursday against joining this trend.

At least 28 state, county and local law enforcement departments have taken training to make immigration arrests and process illegal immigrants for deportation. More than 70 others are on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement waiting list for training.

But Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt made it clear Thursday that his department won’t be taking on ICE duties any time soon. Hurtt said enforcing immigration law in Houston would tie up officers and add long delays to police response times.

“Local police don’t want to be immigration officers, they want to be able to enforce (local) laws,â€