Yakima County declines to meet with immigrant advocates
County declines to meet with immigrant advocates over Secure Communities
by Mike Faulk
Yakima Herald-Republic
YAKIMA, Wash. -- A last-ditch effort by immigrant rights advocates to meet with the Yakima County Commission prior to the implementation next week of a new illegal immigration program fell flat earlier this week.
OneAmerica, a Seattle-based immigrant rights group with volunteers in Yakima County, sent a letter to commissioners and law enforcement officials Friday requesting the meeting over the program known as Secure Communities.
The letter, co-signed by representatives of local groups such as the Yakama Nation and the Yakima Interfaith Coalition, expressed concern that the adoption of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement criminal alien removal program was not thoroughly discussed with community representatives.
Yakima County Commission chairman Kevin Bouchey responded with two sentences Monday in an email shared with the Yakima Herald-Republic, saying the county is dedicated to the program and declining the request to meet.
"We make many operational decisions and this is just, in our mind, another operational decision," Bouchey said in a telephone interview.
Bouchey said commissioners have received some mass-produced postcards on the issue from concerned residents, but had no direct phone calls or public comment at their meetings on the issue. Bouchey said the commission was not inclined to meet with an out-of-town organization claiming to represent local interests.
In the letter, sent by OneAmerica state policy manager Toby Guevin, advocates say they represent at least 100 people who attended a June 1 community meeting airing their concerns about Secure Communities, which will take effect in Yakima County on Tuesday.
"I'm leery of an individual saying he represents 100 residents," Bouchey said. "That's somewhat of a broad statement to be making."
Guevin, who is based in Seattle, scoffed at Bouchey's response, noting the handful of local community organizers who had expressed interest in meeting with commissioners.
"We're obviously disappointed by the lack of interest in any dialogue around the subject," Guevin said. "There have been multiple situations where we invited local law enforcement to discuss their decision and highlight some concerns they may not have considered in only hearing from ICE."
Guevin said the decision by the commissioners and local law enforcement will only worsen trust issues between their offices and the immigrant community.
"People feel like their voice doesn't matter," he said. "That's not a good feeling to have in the community when you're trying to get people to trust you and work with you in a collaborative manner."
Civil rights advocates fear the program, which checks the fingerprints of anyone booked in the county jail against the Department of Homeland Security's database, will erode their trust in local law enforcement, tear families apart and push them further into the shadows. They want the program stopped.
But ICE and county government officials say the program will purge the community of illegal immigrants caught breaking other laws, making life in the Yakima Valley safer for everyone, regardless of immigration status.
ICE has set a goal for the program, begun in 2008 under former President George W. Bush, to reach every state by 2013. More than 1,400 agencies in 42 states currently use the program. ICE credits it with the removal of more than 72,000 criminal aliens, including more than 26,000 convicted of violent crimes.
Yakima County will be the first in the state to adopt the program. Lewis, Benton, Franklin, Grays Harbor, Island, Pacific and Walla Walla counties have also requested access to the program and will likely be activated in the coming months, a spokesman for the State Patrol said.
* Mike Faulk can be reached at 509-577-7675 or mfaulk@yakimaherald.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Mike_Faulk.
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