Thread: Immigration debate hits HPD from both sides

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3997706.html

June 24, 2006, 9:34AM

Immigration debate hits HPD from both sides
ICE says police could be more cooperative; local group says keep current policy
By MATT STILES
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
Stepping into a hot local fight over city policy toward illegal immigrants, the federal agency that enforces immigration laws said Friday that Houston police could do more to help the effort.

At the same time, a leading community group urged the department to stand firm on its policy limiting inquiries into suspects' residency status.

Luisa Deason, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman, said the Houston Police Department still refuses to allow federal agents to screen suspects taken to the city jail. It also won't let officers help with immigration-related roundups.

Asked whether the department had a "sanctuary policy," a phrase that has sparked debate in recent days because of a petition drive, Deason said, "I don't think they have it on paper, but I strongly believe we could have a better relationship with them."

She also said the Police Department doesn't always notify the agency when it encounters people wanted for immigration violations.

Police Chief Harold Hurtt responded that the department asks arrestees about their status and places a notice in the case file if a suspect is in the country illegally.

He also said the department tells ICE when it sees that a person is wanted by the agency.

"We cooperate with them as much as we possibly can," he said.


Current police orders
The existing police policy drew support Friday from representatives of The Metropolitan Organization, a church-based community group. They blasted a petition drive that could allow Houston police to get more involved with immigration enforcement.

Gathering at a near-northside church, TMO members criticized an effort by a group called Protect Our Citizens to force a charter referendum this fall. If approved by Houston voters, the measure would change what the petitioners call the Police Department's "sanctuary" policy.

Under a 16-year-old general order, officers are prohibited from asking people about their immigration status or arresting them solely on the belief that they are in the country illegally.

Changing that policy, TMO members said, could hamper the already understaffed department's ability answer service calls — and possibly lead to racial profiling.

"If that policy is repealed, it will not help the efforts for fighting crime," said the Rev. Oscar Cantu, of Holy Name Catholic Church. "The police need to do what they do best."

Protect Our Citizens supporters say they're working to get 20,000 voter signatures by Sept. 1 in order to place the measure on the November ballot.

They said the proposed charter amendment would be a symbolic gesture, telling immigrants that the city isn't a safe haven. They also it would bolster security by allowing officers to take a more proactive role in identifying people who aren't supposed to be in the country.

"The net result will be that the HPD will have their discretionary authority restored," said group spokesman Paul O'Finan, a Houston lawyer. "We're going to allow the police officer to ask the question if he wants to."


Policy adopted in 1992

Hurtt and Mayor Bill White have said the current policy, established in 1992, helps maintain trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities. Police officials say officers aren't trained to deal with immigration violations — an assertion that O'Finan disputes.

Police have also said that even if they do locate or detain suspected illegal immigrants, federal authorities don't have the bed space to house them. Hurtt said the department generally holds people wanted by the immigration agency for eight hours.

Deason acknowledged that the agency's detention space is limited, forcing officials to focus on the most dangerous illegal immigrants, like those convicted of child molestation, gang crimes or other aggravated felonies.


Councilwoman singled out
In discussing the matter Friday, TMO members singled out Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, who joined Protect Our Citizens at its Tuesday news conference announcing the petition drive and was the first to sign.

TMO said Sekula-Gibbs answered "yes" in 2003 when asked at a public meeting if she would "continue, enforce and make public" the current police policy.

On Friday, Sekula-Gibbs declined to discuss the pledge specifically, saying that TMO worked "actively and unsuccessfully" to defeat her council re-election race that year.

"What I can tell you is that, today, Houstonians want a change in how the police enforce our immigration laws," she said.


TMO cites 2003 pledge

TMO said Sekula-Gibbs made the pledge at one of the group's accountability sessions, in which TMO hosts meetings of area residents and seeks yes-or-no answers from politicians about key issues.

More recently, Sekula-Gibbs has criticized the policy and the city's decision to support a federally funded day labor facility, drawing criticism that she is seeking to curry favor among Republican leaders as she seeks the GOP nomination to succeed U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land.

matt.stiles@chron.com

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/spe ... 99556.html

June 24, 2006, 10:40PM

Customs official touts cooperation with HPD
Immigration matters are much improved, he says, countering earlier comments by aide
By MATT STILES
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

The region's top immigration enforcement official sought Saturday to clarify comments a spokeswoman made about Houston police, saying he's perfectly comfortable with the cooperation his agency gets from the department.

Bob Rutt, special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Houston, said Luisa Deason relied on "dated information" when she said Friday that she "strongly" believed the agency and the department could have a better relationship.

In fact, Rutt said, the cooperation between the two has improved in the last year, as the immigration debate has flared in Houston and across the country.

"We have a very good working relationship with the Houston Police Department on immigration matters and all matters enforced my ICE," Rutt said.

The comments by Deason, the agency's local spokeswoman, came during an interview with the Chronicle about a local group's new effort to change the Police Department's policy on immigration.

The Police Department prohibits officers from asking the immigration status of people they encounter, unless those individuals are arrested on serious misdemeanors or felonies.

And officers aren't supposed to arrest solely on suspicion that they are in the country illegally.

The local group, Protect Our Citizens, wants officers to get more involved with immigration enforcement, and is trying to get 20,000 signatures by Sept. 1 to put a policy change on the November ballot.


Unwritten 'sanctuary policy'
Deason told the Chronicle that the department doesn't allow ICE officials in the city jail and doesn't notify the agency when officers encounter people wanted for immigration violations.

She also suggested that the department has an unwritten "sanctuary policy," a phrase used by Protect Our Citizens and other anti-illegal immigration activists that police commanders and Mayor Bill White dispute.

Rutt said the department does, in fact, notify the agency when it arrests people wanted by ICE. He said officers also call his agency when they suspect violent criminals might be in the country illegally.


Notifying ICE
The department doesn't get involved in "administrative operations," such as immigration enforcement at workplaces. But it does help the agency conduct operations for criminal cases, such as when suspects are violent felons or human traffickers. The department also notifies ICE when it comes across a "drop house," where large groups of illegal immigrants are sometimes housed as they pay off smugglers or travel through the area.

"Houston is not a sanctuary city, by the definition," he said. "They do cooperate with us."

He said Houston's officers cannot serve as de facto immigration agents. Local police don't have the specialized training to determine "alienage" or arrest violators.

Even if they did, ICE couldn't process and house them all.

The agency, which lacks detention space, focuses its efforts on dealing with illegal immigrants who are a threat to national security or public safety, Rutt said.


Understanding roles
HPD Assistant Chief Dan Perales, who heads the department's special investigations command, but also serves as liaison with ICE, said both agencies met last summer to clarify their relationship.

Since then, he said, the department has tried to ensure that officers are certain about their roles, and that the public also understands.

"The main issue is that people of different cultures have to understand the reasons for our current policies, and we want them to feel comfortable here," he said.

Like other police officials, he said the department shouldn't get too involved with immigration because it doesn't have the training or resource — and because it fears alienating immigrant communities, putting them at risk.

Rutt agrees.

"I share the concern," he said. "If illegal immigrants can't come to the police to report crime, they will become more victimized."

matt.stiles@chron.com

More recently, Sekula-Gibbs has criticized the policy and the city's decision to support a federally funded day labor facility, drawing criticism that she is seeking to curry favor among Republican leaders as she seeks the GOP nomination to succeed U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land.

I don't care what her reasons are, I say you go girl - let's catch some illegals!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not really concerned about the reasoning someone has for jumping on the anti-illegal immigrant train - as long as they jump! We need all the help and support we can get from city, state, and national politicans.