Showing posts tagged “immigration”
Matt Saldaña ·
10 Jul 2009, 9:54 PM ·
Comment
In the wake of a Government Accountability Office report that found widespread inconsistencies among law enforcement agencies participating in the voluntary immigration enforcement program, 287(g), the Department of Homeland Security today announced a major overhaul of the program.
DHS is requiring all local law enforcement agencies to sign a new, universal Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), within 90 days, specifying the program’s purpose as “identifying and processing for removal, criminal aliens who pose a threat to public safety or danger to the community.” Previously, GAO found, the program’s mandate to deport illegal immigrants convicted of “violent crimes, human smuggling, gang/organized crime activity, sexual-related offenses, narcotics smuggling and money laundering” was not clearly stated in program materials and MOAs, and as a result some agencies had “used 287(g) authority to process individuals for minor crimes, such as speeding, contrary to the objective of the program.”
An outline of the new MOA (DOC, 44 KB) released to the Indy shows the Department has codified priority levels for the arrest and detention of criminal aliens, meaning that deporting illegal immigrants for non-violent offenses, such as traffic violations, will be a lower priority than deporting illegal immigrants who have committed violent crimes and serious drug offenses. Furthermore, the new MOA has added a clause specifically barring racial profiling, which was not addressed in previous MOAs:
Original MOA: Federal civil rights not addressed
New MOA: Agency personnel are bound by all Federal civil rights laws regulations and guidance relating to non-discrimination
The new MOA also addresses communication failures, and critical oversight problems, by requiring all 287(g) programs to clearly state where complaints should be forwarded, providing a mechanism for DHS to evaluate and approve local programs, and adding new requirements to officers participating in the program.
Perhaps the most sweeping change involves the method of arrest, which previously could trigger a defendant’s deportation process, even if the charges were later dropped. Continue reading »
Durham, North Carolina, Wake County, national 287(g), immigration
Matt Saldaña ·
13 Apr 2009, 5:17 PM ·
Comment
Tancredo, a fringe presidential candidate in 2008, boycotted a Spanish-language Republican debate during the campaign, saying the event “pandered” to Spanish speakers and encouraged the “balkanization” of the U.S.
His speech on Tuesday–to be held at 6:30 p.m. in Room 103 of Bingham Hall–is hosted by the UNC-Chapel Hill chapter of Youth for Western Civilization, a self-styled “right-wing youth movement” founded in 2008 to “create a subculture that will promote the survival of Western Civilization and pride in Western heritage” on college campuses
Read the Today’s News story, and an interview with Youth for Western Civilization’s UNC chapter president Riley Matheson, at indyweek.com.
Update: Also see Sam Wardle’s coverage of the Tancredo speech, which was cut short by protesters.
Chapel Hill, education, national, politics immigration, Tom Tancredo, UNC-Chapel Hill, Youth for Western Civilization
Lisa Sorg ·
4 Mar 2009, 5:11 PM ·
1 Comment
Immigrants’ rights groups have long complained that some local law enforcement agencies in the U.S. are improperly using the 287 (g) program to detain undocumented immigrants on minor offenses, not felonies, and now government testimony supports that claim.
Read the GAO report here.
According to testimony released today from the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not adequately communicated to participating police and sheriff’s departments that the goal of 287 (g) is to get serious felons off the streets, thus giving local law enforcement leeway to detain immigrants for lesser offenses. This could result in a “misuse of authority,” testified Richard Stana, the GAO’s director of Homeland Security and Justice.
287 (g) allows local law enforcement to work with federal immigration officials to deport undocumented immigrants. It is administered under the Homeland Security department and its agency, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
Alamance, Cabarrus, Cumberland, Gaston, Henderson, Mecklenburg and Wake county sheriff’s offices and the Durham Police Department participate in 287(g).
In his testimony, Stana did not name any of the 29 law enforcement agencies participating in the program, only that the GAO had interviewed officials in all of them.
Stana further testified before a House Congressional committee about several additional shortcomings in 287 (g), including the failure of federal officials to sufficiently supervise and direct local law enforcement who are participating in the program. Nor has ICE instructed these local law enforcement agencies on the type of data to track and report, which makes evaluating the program difficult.
“Taken together, the lack of internal controls makes it difficult for ICE to ensure that the program is operating as intended,” Stana testified.
Look for updates on this story.
North Carolina, national, news 287(g), Government Accountability Office, immigration
Matt Saldaña ·
27 Feb 2009, 11:43 AM ·
Comment
After hosting a speech by anti-immigration activist William Gheen earlier this month–in which Gheen compared Chatham County to the Soviet Union, and human rights activists to “foot soldiers” in a battle over immigration–Chatham Conservative Voice invited county commissioners to attend a Thursday night “community forum” to discuss their resolution opposing 287(g), a voluntary immigration enforcement program. The resolution, which commissioners unanimously approved in January, describes the federal program as a costly, and ineffective means of deterring crime. (A recent study by the UNC Law School and the ACLU arrived at the same conclusion.)
However, citing concerns for his own safety, Board of Commissioners Chairman George Lucier declined to attend the Feb. 26 event. In a previous interview with the Indy, Lucier read off several threatening e-mails he said he had received in response to the board’s resolution, citing the Gheen speech as an aggravator. In a response posted on the Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee Web site, Gheen wrote that “such reports by illegal alien supporters are usually a bunch of hot air and hyperbole,” adding, “I’d be squirming to [sic], if my e-mail box and voicemail was overloaded with contacts from people that fervently disagree with my positions.”
In advance of the Feb. 26 CCV forum, NC FIRE, a Wade, N.C.-based anti-immigration group, distributed e-mails equating illegal immigrants with terrorists, and urged attendees to “fight back against Chatham County.” The group’s Web site, which conflates Latinos and illegal immigrants, contains unsubstantiated claims that Latinos carry diseases, and lists “8 ways that illegals make you sick.” One graphic features an upside-down American flag, with a Mexican flag hoisted above it, and the caption, “Have you had enough of this?”
In a statement, Lucier said the group’s e-mails had “effectively undermined the efforts of CCV and local residents to have a civil discussion about various issues.”
Continue reading »
Chatham County 287(g), ALIPAC, Chatham Conservative Voice, Chatham County Board of Commissioners, George Lucier, immigration, Latinos, NC FIRE, William Gheen
Matt Saldaña ·
18 Feb 2009, 2:07 PM ·
2 Comments
A joint study by the UNC Law School and the ACLU of North Carolina, released today, has found the federal 287(g) program to be overly costly; riddled with Constitutional and state law violations; and “an ineffective means of immigration enforcement.” In particular, the study found that, instead of targeting violent criminals, law enforcement agencies participating in 287(g)–which deputizes local officers to act as federal immigration agents–have sought to “purge towns and cities of ‘unwelcome’ immigrants” by racially profiling Latinos at traffic stops, and in pre-textual detentions and arrests. This Constitutional violation, the study found, has the counterproductive effect of marginalizing a vulnerable population, encouraging further harassment and civil rights violations, and discouraging the reporting of actual crimes.
Furthermore, the federal program–which the City of Durham, and Alamance, Mecklenburg, Wake, and four other North Carolina counties have joined–lacks proper oversight, transparency, and guidelines for state and federal funding, the study found. For example, in 2007, the North Carolina State legislature gave $750,000 to the North Carolina Sheriff’s Association for an immigration training project. Other than travel reimbursements, the allocation provided “no language or standards that regulate or provide for oversight or monitoring as to how the money should be spent or how agencies are accountable for the expenditure of these funds.” The NCSA used some of the money to participate in 287(g) programs, without review by the Governor’s Crime Commission, as has been standard procedure for state funding.
The study found that such lack of oversight and transparency has led, in part, to poor leadership and misinformation by state agencies entrusted with pursuing immigration enforcement strategy. In 2007, NCSA adopted a resolution that “perpetuates many myths and misinformation about immigration populations,” the study found. In addition to calling for a reduction to immigrant populations–both legal and illegal–the resolution included unsubstantiated claims that terrorists were crosing the U.S.-Mexico border, and that “illegal alien invaders” (the resolution’s term for illegal immigrants) drain public resources, and don’t pay taxes, none of which has been credibly proven.
Continue reading »
Durham, North Carolina, Orange County, Wake County 287(g), ACLU, immigration, Latinos, UNC
Matt Saldaña ·
5 Feb 2009, 7:17 PM ·
Comment
The North Carolina Criminal Procedure Act, subject to the the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, guarantees that all defendants accused of non-capital crimes can post bail, and be released, pending their trial. A bill introduced today by two first-term state representatives would remove this protection for illegal immigrants convicted of any one of a wide range of criminal and misdemeanor offenses, including moving traffic violations.
The only other non-capital offenses for which defendants are not guaranteed bond in North Carolina are drug trafficking and street-level gang charges, as defined by the N.C. Gang Suppression Act. However, in order for bond to be denied in these cases, defendants must also have been convicted of similar charges (or released from prison) within the past five years, and committed the most recent offense while on pretrial release for another charge. H.B. 84 (No Bail for Certain Illegal Immigrants) would require no such stipulation.
The bill is sponsored by two first-term Republicans: Justin Burr, a bail bondsman from Stanly County, and Pearl Burris Floyd, a Gaston County commissioner who in 2008 became the first black Republican woman elected to the state Legislature. Reps. John Blust (Guilford Co.), David Guice (Transylvania Co.), Efton Sager (Wayne Co.) and Edgar Starnes (Caldwell Co.), all Republicans, have signed on as co-sponsors.
According to the bill, illegal immigrants convicted of a moving traffic violation; a sex, drug or gang-related offense; or a violent felony, would face a “rebuttable presumption” that they be denied bond. (In other words, defense attorneys would have to prove with “reasonable assurance” that their client will appear for trial, and that their release would not pose “an unreasonable risk” to the community, a burden that no other criminal defendant faces–with the exception, in North Carolina, of defendants who face capital charges, or who have committed multiple drug-trafficking or gang-related offenses.
(One other rare exception to guaranteed bond in North Carolina is defendants whose charges occurred while in involuntary commitment at a mental-health facility, or who have recently escaped from such a facility. These defendants are not guaranteed pre-trial release, but instead ordered returned to the mental-health facility.)
In addition, according to the bill, illegal immigrants accused of committing any misdemeanor or non-violent felony offense would be subject to a presumption of bond denial if U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement has “guaranteed that, in all such cases in this State, it will issue a detainer for the initiation of removal proceedings and agree to reimburse the State for the cost of incarceration from the time of the issuance of the detainer.”
Presumably, ICE could guarantee such retainers for any crime, at any time; the bill lists no additional provisions for which crimes the federal agency could agree to cover.
More updates to follow.
North Carolina immigration, Justin Burr, N.C. Gang Suppression Act, NC General Assembly, Pearl Burris Floyd
Matt Saldaña ·
26 Jan 2009, 3:23 PM ·
1 Comment
If you’re searching for a local example of what Barack Obama deemed the false choice “between our safety and our ideals,” look no further than Dan E. Way’s Sunday column in this week’s Chapel Hill Herald. In “Commissioners risk public safety with a PC policy,” the Herald editor favors hyperbole and fear over context and analysis as he weighs in on Orange County’s participation in the Secure Communities program.
Way criticizes Orange County Commissioners for even questioning the program–”the political correctness versus responsible police work showdown” is how Way describes this month’s amicable public meeting, in which Sheriff Lindy Pendergrass answered questions from the board. “Secure Communities,” which Pendergrass implemented this month without prior board review, grants the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies access to Orange County’s fingerprinting data to coordinate the detention and deportation of illegal immigrants who have also committed crimes, including traffic violations. Make no mistake: This program has no practical effect on improving local authorities’ ability to arrest and try defendants for crimes other than immigration violations, which are beyond the jurisdiction of non-federal agencies.
The basic premise of Way’s argument–that questioning Secure Communities is “politically correct,” and a “double standard” for critics of North Carolina’s broken probation system–makes a false comparison between committing violent crimes, and breaking immigration law. This type of rhetoric is typical among anti-immigration groups like Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC), but the editor of a newspaper in Chapel Hill ought to know better than to dish out the same second-grade fresh meat. (”They are horrified by the notion of Orange County being viewed as a rude host by giving the boot to those who criminally abused the generosity and benefits extended to them by their host country,” Way writes of the Orange County Commissioners.)
Regrettably, Way invokes the name of one of Chapel Hill’s most beloved, though short-lived, residents, Eve Carson (full disclosure: a friend of mine). His decision to do so is petty, and irrelevant to the discussion. (”How will they explain that to the family of the next Eve Carson when a very preventable death occurs because of their political correctness?” Way asks.) Indeed, the suspects in Carson’s death had been in and out of the state’s probation system not for federal immigration violations, but for violent crimes such as the possession of a firearm. While one can reasonably construct causality between owning and shooting a gun, it’s inconceivable to do the same between crossing a border (or failing to get one’s papers in order), and killing someone. Yet this is the logic Way, and anti-immigration loudmouths, rely on.
Registration is required to view the article, but I’ve copied and pasted it below the fold, where it belongs.
Continue reading »
Chapel Hill, Orange County, media Chapel Hill Herald, Eve Carson, immigration, Orange County Board of Commissioners, Secure Communities
Matt Saldaña ·
23 Jan 2009, 2:17 PM ·
Comment
The Orange County Board of Commissioners began their Thursday night meeting by asking Sheriff Lindy Pendergrass to explain the county’s participation, beginning this month, in the “Secure Communities Program,” a pilot federal program that grants the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation automatic access to the personal information of people arrested in Orange County. The program is intended to help federal authorities locate illegal immigrants who have also been charged with crimes unrelated to immigration, including traffic violations, Pendergrass said.
“The system is simply that, when you fingerprint someone, it goes through the system, and we get a correct identification of the individual” Pendergrass said, referring to the DHS and FBI databases. “The system does go through the right side of Homeland Security, but we do not –and they do not tell us–if someone we have fingerprinted is someone who is an alien.”
Pendergrass insisted the program did not violate Orange County’s 2007 resolution opposing participation in the federal 287(g) program, which marshals local law enforcement agencies to arrest, and detain, undocumented immigrants.
“I never know if somebody is wanted by immigration, because they don’t tell me, and we have no way of knowing,” he said. “We’re not like Alamance County, and other counties, where they enter into an agreement–and they hold, in the jail, illegal aliens.”
Instead, Pendergrass said, “If they call us and tell us, ‘You have Joe Blow, and he’s an alien,’ that’s their business, and we don’t get involved. If he’s there on charges, he has to have all his charges resolved in Orange before immigration can touch him. It’s just a simple thing people have misunderstood.”
Continue reading »
North Carolina, Orange County 287(g), immigration, Lindy Pendergrass, Orange County Board of Commissioners, Secure Communities
Vernal Coleman ·
12 Nov 2008, 4:08 PM ·
Comment
For all of you prospective and/or perpetual criminals who feel that you’ve been left out of the 287g fun, take heart. The News & Observer reports that now everyone who is booked into Wake County jail will have their immigration status checked as part of a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pilot program.
Wake County is one of seven jails around the nation chosen to test the new fingerprint-based database, including detention centers in Gaston, Henderson and Buncombe counties.
Naturally, the ACLU is pretty apprehensive about the expanded searches:
The fingerprint checks mean that more of a person’s personal information will be shared with law enforcement, said Rebecca Headen of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina. “We’re once again seeing criminal enforcement allied with immigration enforcement,” Headen said.
The expansion of the program is dependent on the prerogative President-elect, say ICE officials. But the uncertainty over the future of the $350 million, hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm of some. Said ICE’s assistant secretary, Julie Myers:
“The goal is to have a virtual ICE presence in every jail in the country.”
Wake County, news immigration, Wake County
Matt Saldaña ·
31 Oct 2008, 12:42 PM ·
Comment
Alamance County will be one of just 59 jurisdictions in the country the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division will monitor Tuesday. Could recent flare-ups over 287(g) be to blame?
Update: A DOJ spokesman said he could not disclose why the counties and cities were selected for monitoring because it could signal the potential abuses officials may be looking for.”The whole purpose is to unobtrusively protect ballot access,” he said.
Read more about the Voting Rights Act, DOJ’s Public Integrity Section and federal election-related laws.
North Carolina 2008 election, Department of Justice, immigration
