Thread: San Diego deputies may turn illegal aliens over to B.P.

Sheriff's deputies may turn illegal aliens over to BP, Gore says

By EDWARD SIFUENTES -
esifuentes@nctimes.com |
Saturday, July 25, 2009 12:03 AM PDT ∞

Newly appointed San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore says he will continue a long-standing department policy that allows his deputies to detain suspected illegal aliens for up to an hour while they wait for the Border Patrol.

Because deputies do not have the authority to enforce immigration laws, detaining a person for more than an hour could be considered an illegal arrest, he said. That is why the department has the one-hour rule, Gore said.

"How long you detain them becomes a legal issue," Gore said. "When does a detention become an arrest? Our lawyers who have looked at this say you're probably safe if you keep it under an hour."

Gore said the policy has been in place at least since he's been in the force, about five years. He said deputies do not go out of their way to look for illegal immigrants or stop people just to check their immigration status.

The policy was criticized by Pedro Rios, director of the human rights watchdog group American Friends Service Committee in San Diego.

Rios said that the policy of handing suspected undocumented immigrants over to the Border Patrol may deter other immigrants from cooperating with local law enforcement agencies in investigations or to report crimes.

"Without a doubt, I think it's counterproductive," Rios said.

How to address illegal immigrants in San Diego County communities has posed difficult questions for local law enforcement agencies, police officials say. They must strike a balance between enforcing the law and building trust among immigrants to come forward and report crimes, police say.

The Sheriff's Department has been no exception.

Former Sheriff Bill Kolender, who recently retired, was criticized during his 2006 re-election campaign for saying his department lacked the manpower to stop the flow of illegal immigrants.

That prompted Bruce Ruff, who was running against Kolender at the time and was endorsed by the anti-illegal immigration group San Diego Minutemen, to say he would sue the federal government to "demand that they secure the border."

In response, Kolender later said that deputies who came across suspected illegal immigrants could call federal agents, that immigration officers could have access to county booking facilities, and fingerprints of suspected illegal immigrants would be sent to immigration officials.

A new program, called Secure Communities, launched in May makes it easier to catch illegal immigrants who are booked into San Diego County jails. The program allows the Sheriff's Department to take a person's fingerprints and run them through FBI and Department of Homeland Security databases to determine whether the person is in the country illegally.

Gore said that more illegal immigrants are being turned over to federal authorities when deputies stop them on the field because the number of Border Patrol agents available to arrest them has increased in recent years, which means they arrive on the scene much quicker.

Mark Endicott, a spokesman with the Border Patrol in San Diego, said agents do assist local police departments when they receive a request.

Since 2006, the number of Border Patrol agents in San Diego County has increased from about 1,600 to about 2,400. But Endicott said the agency could not confirm whether the increase in the number of agents had shortened the time it takes to respond to a call from local law enforcement officers.

There were 3,341 illegal immigrants arrested last year through contacts with local law enforcement, Endicott said. Those figures include San Diego, Riverside and Orange counties, he said.

In recent years, the Escondido Police Department also has been criticized for conducting driver's license checkpoints that some Latino activists say are aimed at illegal immigrants, who are prevented by state law from applying for driver's licenses.

However, Escondido police Chief Jim Maher has said he does not allow his officers to call Border Patrol agents during routine traffic stops.

Gore said cooperating with immigration agencies is a Catch-22.

Those who oppose illegal immigration would criticize the department if deputies didn't act when they encountered someone suspected of being in the country illegally, he said.

On the other hand, Gore said he does not want his deputies to participate in a federal government program that trains and deputizes police officers to enforce immigration laws. He said the department does not have the resources to participate in the program.

The one-hour detain-and-wait rule is a good middle ground, he said.

"I think it shows that we're concerned about our national security," Gore said.

Call staff writer Edward Sifuentes at 760-740-3511.

http://nctimes.com/articles/2009/07/25/ ... 75ece2.txt

Why not set up a large military detention centers at the Border for the illegal aliens to be sent to and processed out of the country quicker. And still train local police and sheriff offices to work with ICE and the Border System.

There are 3,000 districts in America that need the 287g Program. States must do their part, too.

All forms of government have been asleep at the wheel since 1986.

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http://www.alipac.us/article4399.html

The policy was criticized by Pedro Rios, director of the human rights watchdog group American Friends Service Committee in San Diego.

Rios said that the policy of handing suspected undocumented immigrants over to the Border Patrol may deter other immigrants from cooperating with local law enforcement agencies in investigations or to report crimes.

This is just more of the same old BS Lie. Deport them all!