October 11. 2014 10:39PM
ICE gives up names of arrested illegal aliens after repeated requests

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By PAUL FEELY
New Hampshire Union Leader

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are reviewing their policy on releasing names of arrested individuals, after an appeals court judge rebuked the federal agency's policy of protecting the privacy of arrested illegal aliens.

After repeated requests - including a Freedom of Information Act filing - made by the Union Leader Corp. to release the identities of six illegal immigrants arrested in New Hampshire in 2011 were denied by ICE officials, the newspaper filed suit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE. A federal appeals court judge sided with the state's largest newspaper, and the names were released late last week.

"As a Union Leader editorial noted when we first won the case in Boston, 'It is a hallmark of a free society that the people know who is arrested, why, and what the charges are.' The government's reason for denying us this information was that it would violate the privacy rights of those arrested.

It is absurd to tell the American people that illegal aliens who have committed crimes in this country have more rights than they do," said New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News Publisher Joseph McQuaid.

"In fact, when the government can take people off the streets without identifying them, we all lose rights.

"Our editorial at the time asked how the public can check on 'the government's claims that the arrests protected the public,' if the public cannot know who was arrested.

As it turns out, it appears most of the half-dozen men whose identities ICE fought to keep secret were not big criminals. Now we know, and the public can make its own determination on the government's claims," said McQuaid.

When asked Friday if ICE would alter its policy regarding the release of names of illegal immigrants going forward, a spokesman said that has yet to be determined.

"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is reviewing the ruling," said Daniel Modricker, ICE spokesman for New England.

In September 2011, nearly 3,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records, including six in New Hampshire, were rounded up by ICE agents in a seven-day operation dubbed "Cross Check." All 2,900 people arrested were undocumented immigrants with criminal records. Many had ignored a final deportation order or had illegally re-entered the country.

In court, ICE claimed releasing the names would violate the privacy rights of those arrested. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st District in Boston sided with the newspaper and ordered the government to release the identities of six illegal aliens arrested in the Granite State. The deadline to appeal the decision passed last week.

"More important to the management of the New Hampshire Union Leader than the names of the arrested individuals, is the doctrine of law that upholds the public's right to know who the government has arrested," said Gregory Sullivan, attorney for the paper. "While that right is now codified by statute in New Hampshire, the federal case law had not adequately recognized it. When the disclosure of information sheds light on the performance of governmental actors and agencies, then the privacy rights of individuals should not outweigh the public's right to know. This ruling clearly recognizes that proper balance."

State and local police departments across New Hampshire routinely provide the names of anyone over the age 18.

When asked for comment on the decision and ICE's policy of protecting the identity of illegal aliens, an official with the local chapter of the Civil Liberties Union called the situation "complicated."

"Unfortunately, we're not going to be able to comment," said Devon Chaffee, executive director of the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union. "For us, it's a complicated issue of balancing privacy and government transparency that would require us to really delve into the specifics before we took a position."

The names of the six people picked up in a 2011 sweep by ICE officers in Manchester and Nashua are printed below.

Some of those listed have spent much of the last decade in and out of jail for crimes ranging from cocaine sales to a hit-and-run accident and resisting arrest. Others had no criminal record.

Many were taken by ICE agents who appeared at their apartment or place of employment. One individual was given five minutes to call a friend, then put his two children - both American citizens - in the custody of a cousin as he was processed.

. Jesus Ascencio-Rodriguez, of Manchester. He stated to ICE officials he entered the U.S. from Mexico illegally without inspection at an unknown location along the U.S./Mexico border in April 2001. Convicted of illegal entry to U.S. in McAllen, Texas, in 2001.

. Pedro Castaneda-Briones, of Manchester. He stated he entered the U.S. from Mexico illegally in 1999 without inspection at an unknown location along the U.S./Mexico border. One prior Notice to Appear arrest in 2004.

. Jose Luis De Los Angeles Martinez, of Nashua. Records show he was admitted to the U.S. on June 22, 1996, as an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, though no applications for citizenship are pending, and neither of his parents have become U.S. citizens. Criminal record includes a deportable conviction for shoplifting in 2001.

. Carlos A. Opsina-Gallego, of Manchester. Records show he was admitted to the U.S. on April 3, 2001 as an immigrant from Colombia, though no applications for citizenship are pending.

Records show seven prior arrests, on charges ranging from breach of bail conditions to resisting arrest, to possession of marijuana and cocaine, to conduct after an accident (hit and run).

. Marcelo Quisbert Chambi, of Nashua. He is a citizen and national of Bolivia by birth. He was ordered removed by an immigration judge on Jan. 8, 1988. Immigration records show no legal entries into the U.S. He was found guilty of criminal trespassing on Nov. 11, 1993, in Nashua, and ordered to pay a $100 fine.

. Carlos Francisco Santos, of Dover. Records show he was born in the Dominican Republic and entered the U.S. as a Lawful Permanent Resident on Nov. 12, 1992, in Newark, N.J. Because he has sole custody of his two children, he turned them over to his cousin while he was processed. He was released on an Order of Recognizance, and had placed on GPS monitoring.

http://www.unionleader.com/article/2...019762/-1/NEWS