Thread: AZ-Mesa gets OK to train jail guards on immigration

Mesa gets OK to train jail guards on immigration
6 commentsby Nathan Gonzalez - Jul. 21, 2009 10:39 AM

Recent changes to a federal program that allows local authorities to enforce immigration law would have little impact on Mesa police because no one has been trained under the program.

While the department requested the training two years ago, it only recently received approval to train 10 civilian detention guards to process suspected illegal immigrants.

The 287(g) program by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement allows local authorities to enforce federal immigration law and pursue people they suspect are in the country illegally.
New federal standards were recently enacted to address concerns that local authorities have profiled and arrested people for minor offenses to deport illegal immigrants. One new change requires agencies to pursue criminal charges against an arrested immigrant.

Because no one in Mesa was trained under the program, the changes won't affect the city.

However Police Chief George Gascon, who leaves Friday to become chief of the San Franscico Police Department, said Mesa has recently received the OK from ICE to train 10 jail guards.

"Our intention is to deploy them in the jail," Gascon said. "I feel that will be a very good tool for us and will be a continuation of our ability for us to get better at doing our work."

The department requested the training about two years ago, but it was held up by ICE officials, Gascon said. Once the guards are trained, it will speed up processing illegal immigrants, he said.

"We will have people that are trained and have access to the automated system . . . to be able to assess whether they are here legally or not," Gascon said. "I think that is a very good use of our resources."

While Mesa officers have not been trained under 287 (g), officers have been trained under a new city policy that mirrors the federal law. Under that policy, which took effect Jan. 1, officers are only allowed to ask a person's immigration status when they are being booked into jail for a crime.

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office has been the only agency that has used the 287(g) program to actively pursue suspected illegal immigrants. Such broad use of the program has come with allegations of racial profiling and sparked a U.S. Department of Justice investigation at the sheriff's office.

The new standards also limit agreements between ICE and local authorities to three years and allow ICE to end agreements of agencies found not to be in compliance.

"Quite frankly they would have little impact on us at all," Gascon said. "We were never intending to conduct raids that would be unconstitutional. I think they are good guidelines, but don't think they will impact our operation."

Sheriff Joe Arpaio has long argued that accusations his deputies are violating the peoples' civil rights are false. The sheriff has sternly held that he and his deputies are simply enforcing a controversial law.

The change in standards stem from congressional criticism that the program did not specify what criminals local officers should target and lacked criteria to measure the performance of participating agencies.



http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... n0722.html

Mesa gets OK to train jail guards on immigration
6 commentsby Nathan Gonzalez - Jul. 21, 2009 10:39 AM

Recent changes to a federal program that allows local authorities to enforce immigration law would have little impact on Mesa police because no one has been trained under the program.

While the department requested the training two years ago, it only recently received approval to train 10 civilian detention guards to process suspected illegal immigrants.

The 287(g) program by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement allows local authorities to enforce federal immigration law and pursue people they suspect are in the country illegally.
New federal standards were recently enacted to address concerns that local authorities have profiled and arrested people for minor offenses to deport illegal immigrants. One new change requires agencies to pursue criminal charges against an arrested immigrant.

Because no one in Mesa was trained under the program, the changes won't affect the city.

However Police Chief George Gascon, who leaves Friday to become chief of the San Franscico Police Department, said Mesa has recently received the OK from ICE to train 10 jail guards.

"Our intention is to deploy them in the jail," Gascon said. "I feel that will be a very good tool for us and will be a continuation of our ability for us to get better at doing our work."

The department requested the training about two years ago, but it was held up by ICE officials, Gascon said. Once the guards are trained, it will speed up processing illegal immigrants, he said.

"We will have people that are trained and have access to the automated system . . . to be able to assess whether they are here legally or not," Gascon said. "I think that is a very good use of our resources."

While Mesa officers have not been trained under 287 (g), officers have been trained under a new city policy that mirrors the federal law. Under that policy, which took effect Jan. 1, officers are only allowed to ask a person's immigration status when they are being booked into jail for a crime.

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office has been the only agency that has used the 287(g) program to actively pursue suspected illegal immigrants. Such broad use of the program has come with allegations of racial profiling and sparked a U.S. Department of Justice investigation at the sheriff's office.

The new standards also limit agreements between ICE and local authorities to three years and allow ICE to end agreements of agencies found not to be in compliance.

"Quite frankly they would have little impact on us at all," Gascon said. "We were never intending to conduct raids that would be unconstitutional. I think they are good guidelines, but don't think they will impact our operation."

Sheriff Joe Arpaio has long argued that accusations his deputies are violating the peoples' civil rights are false. The sheriff has sternly held that he and his deputies are simply enforcing a controversial law.

The change in standards stem from congressional criticism that the program did not specify what criminals local officers should target and lacked criteria to measure the performance of participating agencies.



http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... n0722.html