Thread: MORE IMMIGRATION AUTHORITY COULD GO LOCAL

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More immigration authority could go local

Sunday, August 12, 2007 -


By Dick Cook
Staff Writer

CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- Some local police and sheriff's departments are interested in having officers get training through the federal government that would allow them to enforce some immigration laws, officials said.

Bradley County Sheriff Tim Gobble asked for two new detectives in next year's budget who would receive training through U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act permits trained local officers to access databases that could help them determine if a person who is under arrest for breaking state law is in this country illegally, officials said.

"This is something I feel like we are lacking in and it could help us address some of the immigration issues we are starting to see come into our area," Sheriff Gobble said. "I would be willing to send people to the training and be part of it if we could get them in it and we had the manpower to do it."

Enforcing immigration laws has been left largely to federal law enforcement agencies, officials said. In 1996, Section 287(g) allowed local and state law enforcement agencies to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with ICE and enroll their officers in a five-week training course.

Once it's determined that a person is in the country illegally, corrections officers could begin paperwork to have them deported, said Richard Rocha, an ICE spokesman.

"There has been an increased in interest in the program," Mr. Rocha said. "A lot of local agencies are looking for ways to cooperate with ICE and use this unique authority."

Whitfield County Sheriff Scott Chitwood said he applied to send eight corrections officers to the ICE training program several months ago. Sheriff Chitwood said that effort "is on hold."

"We got a phone call last week and we were told that (ICE) had run out of training funds this year," Sheriff Chitwood said. "There is no additional funding until October. They said they would put somebody in touch with us after that."

Mr. Rocha said there are 60 agencies with pending requests for the program, which will get $25.3 million in fiscal year 2008.

"We're meeting with offices individually to determine the best approach to tackle the challenges in their area," he said. "We want to determine if 278(g) is appropriate or if there is another program."

"The key message to get out is that 278(g) is just one of the tools in the tool box," Mr. Rocha said.

FEDS NEED HELP

Local law enforcement officials said there aren't enough ICE agents to deal with the tide of illegal immigrants.

ICE officials would not give details about manpower in Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia, but from the perspective of immigration officials, 287(g) would act as "a force multiplier," Mr. Rocha said.


"It combines federal and local resources," he said. "It's a plus."

On Thursday at the Bradley County Justice Center, Sgt. S.L. McBride booked a Hispanic man for traffic violations. She and another corrections officer entered the man's name into the Law Enforcement Support Center database to see if he was in the country illegally.

"It's not foolproof but it's an excellent tool," she said.

Sgt. McBride said officers there check the names of up to a dozen people a day. On Thursday, ICE agents picked up two illegal aliens who faced local charges and took them to a federal holding facility, she said.

"They are gone," Sgt. McBride said. "They are headed for deportation."

A Georgia law that took effect last month requires corrections officers to report to ICE any person being held on state criminal charges whom they believe is in the country illegally.

Lt. Wes Lynch, booking supervisor in the Whitfield County Jail, said his officers run "Immigration Alien Queries" on all inmates who are foreign nationals.

"We found some with serious charges who had been previously deported," Lt. Lynch said Friday as officers entered five more names into the ICE database.

Lt. Lynch said of the 500 inmates, 101 are of Hispanic descent and one man is from England.

"We currently have 26 inmates with ICE holds and an additional nine that they've asked us to contact them if they are convicted," he said.

Lt. Lynch said if eight of his officers get the 278(g) training, it would help access additional ICE information that is not now available to local law enforcement.

"It would mean more work for us, but people in the county and the state want (law enforcement) to do something about illegal immigration," he said.
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Psalm 91

I will once again ask the same question I've asked 1000's of times before........who trumps who when it comes government, state, city, town....and who do you hold responsible for these laws?