Nashville lawyer calls for end to 287(g) immigration program
5:40 AM, Jan 19, 2011 | 10 comments

By Chris Echegaray, The Tennessean

Citing public interest and the rights of the Hispanic community, a Nashville lawyer representing a U.S. citizen detained under the 287(g) immigration program wants the Davidson County sheriff prohibited from enforcing it.

The injunction filed Tuesday in Chancery Court claims that 287(g), the federal program carried out by Davidson County Sheriff's Office, should be stopped to protect the Hispanic community, whose trust in law enforcement has eroded.

The injunction stems from Daniel Renteria-Villegas' lawsuit claiming he was detained for 12 hours as an illegal immigrant even though he was born in the United States. The sheriff's office has no authority to conduct immigration investigations, the suit says.

"The prospect of other natural-born U.S. citizen inmates being subjected to unlawful investigation similar to that Renteria withstood is clearly adverse to the public interest," the injunction, filed by lawyer Elliott Ozment, says.

Ozment declined to comment.

Named 287(g) after a section of federal immigration law, the program allows Davidson County deputies to run any inmate suspected of being foreign born through an immigration database. The sheriff's office holds them for possible deportation through U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The sheriff's office declined to comment.

While it's unfortunate that U.S. citizens are detained, it's doubtful that the immigration program will be stopped, said Muzaffar Chishti, director of the nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank Migration Policy Institute, housed at the New York University School of Law.

Chishti said there are other cases in which citizens were screened for deportation and they also filed lawsuits. They were compensated, but the injunctions failed.

"U.S. citizens should not be targeted, but it is unlikely that it will give rise to an injunction," he said. "Technically, it's a federal contract and the sheriffs are basically deputized and ... removal proceedings are actually made by ICE officers."
287(g) controversy

Since the program's inception here in 2007, controversy surrounded 287(g), with advocates stating it would lead to racial profiling, casting a net that would undoubtedly lead to citizens being ensnared.

Ozment, in court filings, said the sheriff's office has an unwritten policy of "subjecting any Latino or Hispanic inmate who is not fluent in English to a 287(g) investigation."

The sheriff's office doesn't have the authority to conduct immigration investigations under the federal 287(g) program, according to the lawsuit.

Both parties will be notified of an injunction hearing in several days.

http://www.wbir.com/rss/article/153101/ ... on-program