Irving's immigrant referrals a fraction of N. Texas numbers

Agency gets lots of attention, but it's not alone in addressing issue

08:58 PM CDT on Friday, October 12, 2007
By JEFF MOSIER and BRANDON FORMBY / The Dallas Morning News

Irving gets much of the congratulations and condemnations for efforts in identifying illegal immigrants for deportation, but it's not alone in its tough tactics.

At least nine North Texas law enforcement agencies have a Criminal Alien Program or similar effort in which federal officials are routinely notified about arrestees whose immigration status is suspicious. The national spotlight, however, has been focused on Irving because it may have made more referrals to Immigration and Customs Enforcement than any other city in the past year.

Although Irving placed 170 detainers or holds on inmates in September, that was less than one third of the 540 referrals made last month by the seven local agencies with the most active programs.

Federal officials said they don't track which agencies have programs or how the efforts work.

"All I can tell you is we routinely work with many, many law enforcement agencies," said Carl Rusnok, a spokesman for the regional ICE office in Dallas.

He said several area municipalities participate in not just CAP, but a variety of other initiatives. And because programs are operated differently, the agency hasn't historically tracked who usesor how many people they're turning over for deportation proceedings.

This week, Mr. Rusnok's office compiled data on the seven local law enforcement agencies with the largest number of detainers placed on inmates in September. These were inmates that federal agents determined were in the country illegally. Irving came out on top.

Nationwide, the numbers are increasing. In October 2006, ICE placed 7,138 detainers on suspected illegal immigrants who had been arrested on other charges. In August, that number ballooned to 18,628.

In Farmers Branch, which received national attention for its attempts to crack down on landlords renting to illegal immigrants, police have had a CAP similar to Irving's since the end of last year. Cpl. Chad Taylor said officials ask about the immigration status of everyone arrested and run a background check to determine if that person is who he claims to be.

Anyone who admits to being in the country illegally or doesn't have a driver's license or Social Security number is referred to ICE for further investigation.

The city implemented this more thorough process in late 2006. Previously, the jail didn't perform the more thorough checks on people charged with Class C misdemeanors.

At the Dallas County Sheriff's Department, which had North Texas' second-largest number of referrals in September, deputies leave all the work to federal agents.

"We are not immigration agents," sheriff's spokesman Michael Ortiz said.

Two ICE officers work rotating shifts at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center, Deputy Ortiz said. Those officers have the authority to interview prisoners and are trained to look for illegal immigrants. One red flag, he said, is when prisoners list a birthplace other than the United States in jail paperwork.

Deputy Ortiz said the Sheriff's Department "prefers to leave immigration issues with those who are trained in that field."

Collin County Sheriff's Department spokesman John Norton said the county has worked with immigration officials for several years, but its efforts are now more comprehensive.

"A guy used to come over every day or so and look over who was in [the jail] and decide who probably were illegal immigrants," Mr. Norton said.

Now, the jail staff sends inmate information to ICE electronically.

Terry Grisham, a Tarrant County sheriff's spokesman, said his department's program is similar to one previously used by Irving and Collin County. He said ICE officials stop by the jail two or three times a week to screen inmates. They also do phone interviews.

Mr. Grisham said he didn't have specific numbers, but Tarrant County usually has no more than 10 to 20 people on an immigration hold at any time.

In Lewisville, police have been checking the citizenship status of every arrestee since Sept. 14. Chief Russell Kerbow said Lewisville made the change based on advice from immigration officials.

Since the change, ICE has placed holds on nine people. Lewisville didn't track holds until the policy change, making comparisons difficult.

City officials called the change minor. The main difference is that when a person's citizenship status can't be quickly proved, investigators ask more questions. If the answers are suspicious, police call ICE.

"We have taken the best, most equitable approach," Lewisville City Council member Lathan Watts said. "We treat everybody the same. There's no perception we're targeting one group of people."

Spokesman Tom Reedy said the Denton County Sheriff's Office hasn't changed its practices and generally follows ICE policies.

ICE requires law enforcement agencies to check an arrestee's criminal record if residency status is questionable, he said. If the person has been charged with a felony or two misdemeanors, ICE is contacted. Denton County also calls ICE if the person has been charged with a violent misdemeanor.

"We just do what they tell us to do," Mr. Reedy said. "If we arrest someone and we bring them in, we'll take a look at them."

Irving's place in the spotlight has influenced police agencies elsewhere. Inspector George Collins with the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Department in northwest Florida said he and others in sheriff's departments in adjacent Walton, Escambia and Santa Rosa counties read newspaper reports online about Irving's program and decided to duplicate it.

Previously, the four counties "had this ad hoc way of making referrals," Inspector Collins said. "We didn't even have good statistics."

Now they ensure that every person arrested who can't immediately prove citizenship is checked by federal officials.

Other law enforcement agencies have decided to steer clear of the illegal immigration issue. Fort Worth police officials debated several months ago and decided to keep the city's policy of not asking about immigration status.

Lt. Dan Draper said this is a federal issue, not a local one. Also, he said, there was serious concern that a police-led crackdown on illegal immigrants could hamper criminal investigations.

"We need for people to not be afraid to come to us if they are a victim of a crime or a witness to a crime," he said.

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