Sheriff's Office, immigration officials negotiate jail screening program
Sheriff's Office, immigration officials negotiate jail screening program
By Susan Carroll, Mike Morris | Sunday, October 14, 2012
The Harris County Sheriff's Office and U.S. immigration officials are negotiating the "finer points" of an agreement that would continue their partnership through an embattled jail screening program, officials said.
The sheriff's agreement - and those of many other participants nationwide in the program known as 287(g) - is set to expire this fall amid mounting controversy and confusion over the Obama administration's plans for the program, which deputizes local law enforcement to assist immigration agents.
The American Civil Liberties Union last month sent Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials a letter signed by 70 community leaders calling for the termination of all of the agency's 287(g) partnerships, saying the program lacked transparency and damages trust in law enforcement.
Sheriff Adrian Garcia, long a vocal supporter of the program, is calling for ICE to make specific changes to its agreement with the Sheriff's Office before signing off on a new agreement, said Alan Bernstein, a spokesman for the sheriff.
The sheriff, who declined a request to speak with a reporter about the program, is asking ICE to take a more active role in educating the public about the program, Bernstein said. Garcia also wants ICE to provide his office with monthly data that includes the demographics of those identified and deported through the program.
The future of the 287(g) program has been in doubt since it suffered a $17 million cut - or 27 percent - in the 2013 fiscal year budget.
ICE officials did not respond to questions about the program, but issued a statement saying they are conducting a national review of 287(g). As part of the review, the agency notified all 62 law enforcement agencies that participate of its plans to extend their agreements until the end of the year. The programs deemed "the least productive" will be cut, officials said.
Top Obama administration officials have signaled that they favor a different jail-screening system, dubbed Secure Communities, that automatically checks inmates fingerprints against a massive immigration database and flags those with questionable immigration history. The administration is trying to roll out that program nationwide by the end of the year's end.
Program under fire
"The Secure Communities screening process, coupled with federal officers, is more consistent, efficient and cost-effective in identifying and removing criminal and other priority aliens," the agency said in its statement.
The 287(g) program, authorized by Congress in the 1990s, has been credited with identifying more than 304,000 suspected illegal immigrants nationally since 2006, when it gained popularity under the Bush administration. The program has grown increasingly controversial in recent years, particularly after a series of critical reports by the Government Accountability Office and the Inspector General and high-profile allegations of abuses or mistakes by local law enforcement agencies.
Locally, ICE and the Sheriff's Office faced sharp criticism for the wrongful deportation of Jakadrien Turner, a Dallas teenager who was identified as a suspected illegal immigrant at the Harris County Jail. The 15-year-old U.S. citizen had assumed the identity of a Colombian woman, officials said. The case prompted a federal lawsuit, international media coverage and renewed calls by activists to end the program.
"Hanging onto this makes no sense," said Cesar Espinosa, a Houston immigrant advocate, who said 287(g) has resulted in the deportations of illegal immigrants without serious criminal records.
Local removals through the program have plunged in recent years, according to ICE's data. The agency credited it with helping to identify more than 8,800 suspected illegal immigrants in 2009. Last year, that number dropped to 2,788 - a decrease of about 68 percent, the data shows.
Garcia has stood squarely behind the program publicly, saying earlier this year that its elimination "would mean the failure to refer to ICE for possible removal many violent, dangerous, experienced criminals."
The sheriff is likely to have local backing if he and ICE officials can reach an agreement on a new agreement to take before the Harris County Commissioner's Court. A majority of the court, reached by the Chronicle, offered enthusiastic support for the program, which the county's budget office estimated in 2009 costs local taxpayers about $1.1 million annually.
Commissioner Jack Morman called it "worth every penny," adding that he didn't see the need for the reforms pushed by Garcia.
"I think it's money well spent," said Commissioner Steve Radack. "There's no reason why the government should not determine the immigration status of someone in the jail, period, end of story. It's a very useful law enforcement tool."
susan.carroll@chron.commike.morris@chron.com
Sheriff's Office, immigration officials negotiate jail screening program - Houston Chronicle
