Rogers backs police training for enforcing immigration
By Steve Lannen

http://www.kentucky.com/454/story/185555.html

SLANNEN@HERALD-LEADER.COM
Kentucky's longest-serving congressman voiced his support yesterday for local police departments to seek training to enforce federal immigration laws.

Gov. Ernie Fletcher could soon take a position on the issue as well.

Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Somerset, said federal immigration authorities are underfunded and understaffed and will never get a handle on the several million undocumented immigrants in the United States without help from state and local police officers around the nation. Rogers urged homeland security directors and other officials to seek federal funding, for training from Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

"I encourage you, strongly encourage you, to take advantage of the federal funds available to help you train your local police in that respect," he said. "I don't want to see any state in the southeast U.S., much less the rest of the country, be a sanctuary state ... ."

The congressman made his remarks during a speech at the Southeast Region Homeland Security Directors' Conference, held at Lexington's Embassy Suites, with Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry sitting a few yards away.

Newberry is awaiting recommendations from a commission studying issues related to immigration in Lexington. One of the prime points of discussion surrounding the commission's work has been whether local law enforcement agencies should seek training to enforce federal immigration laws as some are in other states.

"It's an option we've got to consider," Newberry said after the speech. "Whether it will be implemented remains to be seen." He said he did not recall what an early draft of the commission report says about training local police to enforce immigration law through federal funding, known as 287(g) for that section in federal immigration law.

Commission chair Glen Krebs said the report will be completed in the coming weeks. He declined to say what the report says about the issue, but a draft copy obtained by the Herald-Leader indicates the commission will not recommend that Lexington police seek any training from ICE. Doing so could damage the relationship Lexington police have forged with a largely Hispanic immigrant community in Lexington, the draft report states.

Last month, Lexington Police Chief Anthany Beatty sent a letter to commissioners reiterating his policy that police arrest only those undocumented immigrants suspected of breaking a law other than being in the United States without permission.

At one of the commission's last meetings, Fayette Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Larson, who is also a commission member, suggested checking immigration status only after someone is arrested and brought to the Fayette jail.

Earlier, a jail spokesman declined to comment on that suggestion, and Fayette Sheriff Kathy Witt called for a larger discussion about processing inmates.

After his speech, Rogers said he was first concerned with local police identifying and helping to deport someone who has committed serious crimes while in the United States. He said he was not interested in seeing local police detain people whose only crimes are entering or staying illegally in the United States. ICE training would allow police to know who they are dealing with, he said.

"When police stop someone for drunk driving, then they know how to and are authorized to go further and find out if that person is an illegal alien and then (check) against the federal records to see if there is a warrant, whether they are wanted as a criminal," he said.

Of the estimated 12 million to 15 million or more people who entered the United States or remained here illegally, a half million have committed crimes, he said.

As of late June, law enforcement agencies in 11 states had sought ICE training, according to information on the federal agency's Web site.

No agency in Kentucky has sought the training, but that might change.

Late yesterday, Fletcher's spokeswoman Jodi Whitaker, said an announcement about 287(g) could come later this week, but declined to be more specific. "This is an issue that is very important to the governor. We've been working on this issue for several weeks now and hope to have an announcement later this week," she said.

Freddy Peralta, the president of Kentucky Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said that 287(g) training should be discouraged. It will not only damage the trust many immigrants have with local police, but there are also hidden costs, such as transporting detainees, that are not considered.

"It's not going to help the Commonwealth," he said. "It would not be a positive thing to do unless he would be trying to look for some votes -- and I don't know if that's the reason -- but it would not be positive for the community as a whole."


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Reach Steve Lannen at (859) 231-1328 or 1-800-950-6397, Ext. 1328.