Oct. 9, 2007, 12:11AM
Localized immigration enforcement on rise
Federal inaction means more than ever, nation's law agencies take issue into own hands
By JAMES PINKERTON
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
Local and state law enforcement agencies throughout the country are taking unprecedented steps to police illegal immigration, a responsibility historically reserved for the federal government.
So far this year, officers from 23 county and state agencies from Virginia to California have been trained under a 1996 federal law that allows them to make immigration.
...But the push toward more local enforcement raises concerns in many quarters. Nestor Rodriguez, director of the Center for Immigration Research at the University of Houston, said using local police to enforce complex immigration laws can lead to abuses, including racial profiling and unlawful detention.
''The worst consequence is not what the police do, but how the people begin to feel," Rodriguez said. ''Latinos who are U.S. citizens begin to feel the police are after them."
Texas rejects enforcement
The tool driving some of the enforcement shift can be attributed to a federal program that sounds more like an IRS tax form: Called 287 (g), this section of the 1996 immigration law authorizes jailers and police officers to conduct immigration arrests and process deportation paperwork under ICE supervision.
Since the program began in 2002, 33 state and local agencies have entered into agreements with ICE, and 597 local officers who received training have made 26,000 arrests, said Carl Rusnok, an ICE spokesman.
In Texas, no department has signed up for the federal cross-training. Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Tom Vinger said there are no plans to undergo the training in the future. "Our stance has always been that we don't enforce immigration policy," Vinger said...
Harris County assistance
Beyond 287 (g) and new state laws, local authorities are also employing the ICE Criminal Alien Program to help police immigration.
As part of the program, Harris County officials say they began asking county jail inmates in September 2006 if they were in the country legally.
So far, the policy change has resulted in jail officials making 5,556 referrals to ICE agents, said Lt. John Martin.
After the county makes the referrals, ICE can place detainers on the immigrants, preventing their release.
...The same Criminal Alien Program has ignited protests in recent weeks in Irving, the Dallas suburb where ICE agents are working closely with city jailers and deporting more than 300 illegal immigrants a month. Local activists complain Irving police are targeting immigrants in raids on apartment complexes, but city officials say they are only arresting people who have committed crimes.
On the Texas border, sheriff's deputies are using federal funds to take part in security operations designed to crack down on border crime. Gov. Rick Perry's office dispersed $9.8 million in federal grants to pay overtime for Operation Linebacker in 2005 and 2006 and is funding Operation Border Star, the state's latest effort to increase the number of patrols along the border.
''This isn't an operation to target illegal immigration," said Krista Moody, a spokeswoman for Perry's office. ''These operations are focused on deterring crime, drug smuggling and human trafficking in our border communities."
Activists Like Iliana Holguin, an attorney at the El Paso Catholic Diocese, say the operations overstep their mission.
'''These border law authorities want the money to combat border crime, but in the end it's being used to go after individual undocumented immigrants and their families, many who are U.S. citizens," Holguin said.
Harassment alleged
Activists say that happened last month in Chaparral, a border community in New Mexico near El Paso, where 28 undocumented migrants were deported after they were detained.
''It just goes beyond even what we've seen here in terms of harassment," said Briana Stone, an attorney with the Paso del Norte Civil Rights Project, who is investigating the Chaparral operation.
Residents there say officers forced their way into homes after saying they were responding to 911 calls or complaints about barking dogs or investigating code violations, Stone said.
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