Irving cannot detain some illegal immigrants

[leobold1]

Irving cannot detain some illegal immigrants | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Latest News

12:23 AM CST on Wednesday, November 21, 2007

By BRANDON FORMBY and STEPHANIE SANDOVAL / The Dallas Morning News
bformby@dallasnews.com, ssandoval@dallasnews.com

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in North Texas will no longer detain most illegal immigrants arrested for Class C misdemeanors, citing a dramatic increase in referrals and limited resources.

The agency began notifying area cities this week that it wants to target for deportation suspected illegal immigrants charged with more serious crimes.

Document: See the memo sent to City of Irving officials

Dallas ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok said Tuesday that increased awareness of the Criminal Alien Program has led to a recent spike in referrals the agency receives from local law enforcement.

"These additional referrals required additional resources not immediately available," said Mr. Rusnok, whose office covers 128 Texas counties and all of Oklahoma. ICE officials are directing local law enforcement agencies to refer people suspected of being in the country illegally if they have been arrested on Class B misdemeanors or more serious crimes.

The agency will continue to look at those arrested for Class C misdemeanors if, for example, the suspect possessed a firearm or has an immigration warrant or a criminal record involving a Class B misdemeanor or more serious crime.

The new guidelines will enable ICE to "allocate our law enforcement assets in the most effective manner possible to address public safety and national security threats," according to a memo sent to Irving outlining the changes.

Mr. Rusnok said his agency will check those charged with Class C misdemeanors as resources permit. He noted that anyone in the country illegally is at risk of deportation.

Irving officials estimate that 60 percent of the more than 1,700 suspected illegal immigrants they have turned over to ICE for deportation since last year faced only Class C misdemeanor charges. Such charges include speeding, assault, public intoxication and hot checks. The penalty for Class C misdemeanors is a fine of no more than $500.

Class B misdemeanors include disorderly conduct with a firearm, prostitution and driving while intoxicated. Penalties include a fine of up to $2,000 and up to 180 days in jail.


Mayor complains

News of the latest guidelines re-ignited debate about how best to grapple with illegal immigration. Local and state officials expressed shock and frustration at what they say is a lack of resources and inaction by federal officials on immigration.

"We're cooperating in all the ways that we can to help them, and it's obvious they don't have the resources to get it done systemwide," Irving Mayor Herbert Gears said.

He said ICE declined to place holds on several suspected illegal immigrants in Irving's jail on Monday because they faced only Class C misdemeanors.

Hispanic leaders and activists for weeks have called for scaling back the program, which they say has deported people effectively for minor traffic violations. On Tuesday, they hailed the decision.

"We said to the Irving authorities that the way they were proceeding was wrong because ... they were not affecting criminals but families for totally unjustified reasons," Mexican Consul Enrique Hubbard Urrea said.

He warned immigrants from his country in September to avoid Irving so they wouldn't be deported.

Irving generated buzz
CAP has long been available to local law enforcement agencies. But national publicity about Irving's high number of arrestees turned over to ICE for deportation proceedings generated unprecedented attention in recent months.

Officials in other cities said Tuesday that they had heard rumors about the policy change but had not been formally notified. The move is expected to dramatically alter which North Texas arrestees are interviewed by ICE and held for possible deportation under CAP.

Sheriff's departments in Dallas, Denton and Collin counties and the Farmers Branch, Garland and Grand Prairie police departments are among the North Texas law enforcement agencies that use CAP.

"Today it's a big celebration for all immigrants that the CAP program is going to be revised and that illegal immigrants in Irving will not be deported for traffic citations," said Carlos Quintanilla, who has gained media attention for organizing rallies in opposition to the program.

He said his attorney plans to file a lawsuit this week challenging the constitutionality of CAP and disparities in how it is implemented.

Some Irving Hispanic activists who disagreed with Mr. Quintanilla's aggressive style opted instead to hold closed-door meetings to try to persuade Irving officials to scale back their use of CAP. They, too, considered the policy change to be good news.

"A program called the Criminal Alien Program should not be focused on misdemeanors and first-time offenses," such as running a stop sign or driving without a driver's license, said Alberto Ruiz, a co-founder of a group called Irving Forward, which defends illegal and legal immigrants and pushes for voter registration for those with U.S. citizenship.

Officials frustrated
State Rep. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney, said Texas and other border states are frustrated that the federal government is not following through on its job.

"If we've identified illegal immigrants, especially if they're committing crimes, it needs to be dealt with," said Mr. Paxton, who is also on the board of directors for the Texas Conservative Coalition. "They're not supposed to be here."

Farmers Branch Mayor Pro Tem Tim O'Hare said ICE's change in policy is telling.

"The first thing I think it tells you is how many people who are here illegally break other laws, other than just being in the country illegally," Mr. O'Hare said.

It's also indicative of the large number of illegal immigrants in the Dallas area, he said.

Mr. O'Hare spearheaded the attempted crackdown in Farmers Branch that included a proposed ban on apartment rentals to most illegal immigrants.

"The federal government can't handle this problem alone, and they need the assistance of cities and counties and states," he said.

Irving City Council member Beth Van Duyne said the city now needs to work closer with federal officials, who she said are not doing enough to support successful programs such as CAP.

"My fear all along has been that resources will begin to dwindle, and it was always a short-term solution and not a long-term solution, and that's what you're beginning to see," she said.

State Rep. Linda Harper-Brown, R-Irving, along with four other area lawmakers, recently praised Irving's efforts and urged other cities to join CAP to curb illegal immigration.

"This is an epidemic, and it's costing taxpayers millions of dollars," she said Tuesday. "There has to be a process to turn them over. I don't know why the feds are choosing to ignore the law."

Staff writer Dianne Solís and Al Día staff contributed to this report.

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GUIDELINES

The Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Detention & Removal Operations office has issued guidelines to local law enforcement agencies that are referring arrestees for immigration holds under its Criminal Alien Program. Referrals include:

Any foreign national arrested and prosecuted (or referred to the district attorney for prosecution) for a Class B misdemeanor or above

Any foreign national arrested for any criminal offense who has a criminal history indicating at least one conviction (including deferred adjudication) for a Class B misdemeanor or above

Any foreign national arrested for any offense who was out on bond for a Class B misdemeanor or above at the time of arrest

Any foreign national arrested for any criminal offense who is in possession of a firearm at the time of arrest

Any foreign national arrested for any offense who has an Immigration Alien Query hit or National Crime Information Center wants/warrants hit for an immigration law violation. This includes fugitives/absconders and prior deported felons

The guidelines also allow for referrals for anyone arrested who is believed to pose a threat to public safety or national security

Source: Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement

[Woodmonkey]

Pelosi and Kennedy could find money to fund a museum to Woodstock, but they can't properly fund ICE so they can deal with this?