Police trained in illegals control

By Natasha Altamirano
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
June 15, 2007


Herndon police are scheduled to complete federal training in immigration-enforcement procedures today, joining 20 other departments nationwide in efforts to crack down on the nation's estimated 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens.
The western Fairfax County town is the first locality in the region to enter the local-federal partnership, authorized under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows state and local law-enforcement agencies to work with federal officials to identify and detain illegal aliens.
The sheriff's departments in Rockingham and Shenandoah counties in Virginia also are expected to complete training today, said Michael Gilhooly, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Homeland Security Department agency that oversees the 287(g) program.
The most recent program graduates bring to about 375 the number of local and state officers across the country trained in federal immigration enforcement, Mr. Gilhooly said.
Officers in police departments and correctional facilities in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee also have completed the training.
Another 70 agencies are developing the voluntary partnerships, known as memoranda of understanding, with ICE, Mr. Gilhooly said.
The Loudoun County Sheriff's Department and the Prince William-Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center are pursuing federal training.
ICE officials still must approve final details, but Loudoun County Sheriff Stephen O. Simpson said he would like to have six or seven officers trained, including those who serve on the Northern Virginia Gang Task Force and staff at the county's adult detention center.
Sheriff Simpson said his department has a relationship with ICE through the gang task force, which deported 48 illegal aliens from Loudoun County last year.
"We have a process in place that's working, but as the county continues to grow and face more and more demands, I feel we need to prepare ourselves to be more responsive," he said. "Doing this will allow us to continue that proactive approach."
Herndon Police Chief Toussaint E. Summers Jr. compared the training to tools.
"This is in the course of their normal duties," Chief Summers said. "If they need a screwdriver, they'll pull it out."
The program is designed to augment -- not replace -- federal authority, he said, adding that the seven trained officers now possess a specialized skill -- much like an officer who administers Breathalyzer tests or operates radar.
The program is not designed to train local officers in workplace raids or street roundups of illegal aliens.


http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20 ... -5555r.htm