VA county ends police policy on status questions

Police suspend ban on immigration status queries
By Natasha Altamirano
The Washington Times, July 10, 2007
http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070710/METRO/107100039/1004/metro

Prince William County Police Chief Charlie T. Deane has suspended a department policy prohibiting officers from asking residents about their immigration status except when they are suspected of felonies or other major crimes.

In a memo last week to the Board of County Supervisors, Chief Deane said he plans to implement a policy to 'provide officers with additional guidance' and will pursue federal training for immigration-enforcement procedures. He will present his plans to the board today.

Board members are expected to discuss a proposed resolution requiring police officers making arrests and county staff providing public services to ask about immigration status.

The resolution, introduced last month by Supervisor John T. Stirrup, directs the police department to pursue training authorized under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows state and local law-enforcement agencies to work with federal officials to identify and detain illegal aliens.

Chief Deane opposes such training for his department but supports it at the Prince William-Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center, which is finalizing a formal agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said Sgt. Kim Chinn, police department spokeswoman.

Chief Deane, who was unavailable for comment yesterday, suspended a May 2005 order that prohibited county officers from asking a person about their immigration status unless they are arrested for a felony, criminal street-gang activity, terrorist activity or organized crime, using a firearm while committing a crime or fraudulent activity to assist illegal aliens.

Virginia law allows police to check immigration status and notify federal immigration officials if a suspect is found to have been convicted of a felony or to have a warrant outstanding from ICE.

Mr. Stirrup's resolution states: 'County police officers shall inquire into the citizenship or immigration status of any person detained for a violation of a state law or municipal ordinance, regardless of the person's national origin, ethnicity or race. ... In all such cases where a person indicates that he or she is not a citizen or national of the United States, the police department shall verify whether or not the person is lawfully present in the United States.'

Chief Deane has defended the department's policy and questioned the feasibility of implementing Mr. Stirrup's proposal.

'Illegal immigration is first and foremost a national problem that can best be addressed with national strategies' such as border security and sanctions against employers of illegal aliens, Chief Deane wrote in his memo.

'I want to say emphatically that Prince William County is not now, nor has it been, a 'sanctuary' for illegal immigration,' he wrote. 'The police department and county have been more aggressive than most jurisdictions in dealing with illegal immigration.'

Help Save Manassas, whose mission is to reduce the influx of illegal aliens in Prince William County, has demanded that county supervisors reverse what it calls the police department's 'sanctuary policy.'

Greg Letiecq, president of the group, called the chief's memo encouraging.

'Any time you have your elected officials or county officials respond to the concerns of the public, that's always a good thing,' he said.

County Executive Craig S. Gerhart, County Attorney Ross G. Horton and jail Superintendent Charles 'Skip' Land also are expected to make presentations to the board.

Last week, Mr. Horton proposed a closed session with supervisors to discuss legal issues. 'The actual wording of those policies and their method of implementation require careful thought to avoid falling afoul of constitutional, statutory and regulatory strictures,' he wrote in a memo.

Mr. Gerhart, who is scheduled to present to the board the county's current policy on checking immigration status, raised doubts about the ability to enact the resolution. 'As a general comment, I ask that the board consider the county's ability to implement successfully the policies established by the board and meet the expectations of the community created by those policies,' he wrote in a memo.

The county restricts certain public services — such as Medicaid, food stamps and other social services — to illegal aliens, but federal law prohibits such restrictions for other services, including emergency medical care and certain elder-care programs.

---

Sheriff forms new task force to fight illegal immigration
The NBC 2 News (Ft. Myers, FL), July 10, 2007
http://www.nbc-2.com/articles/readarticle.asp?articleid=13408&z=3&p=

Collier County -- The Collier County Sheriff is starting a new task forces aimed at speeding up the deportation process for illegal immigrants who have committed a crime.

Sheriff Don Hunter outlined his plans in front of the Marco Island Rotary Club Tuesday morning.

He explained to club members that 25 percent of the inmates in the Collier County jail admit to being in the U.S. illegally.

Sheriff Hunter says the cost of housing those illegal immigrants is $25,000 a day and more than $9 million a year.

His answer to the problem - the new Criminal Investigation Task Force.

It's a group that will partner directly with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE and detain illegal immigrants here in Collier County.

Right now illegal immigrants are sent to centers on the east coast.

Sheriff Hunter says processing them here will speed up the deportation process.

'My goal would be to severely restrict the number of illegal foreign criminal aliens within Collier County who repeatedly violate law, who repeatedly victimize persons living in Collier County,' said Sheriff Don Hunter, the Collier County Republican.

The sheriff says training for the new task force should begin within the next 60 days and the officers will start working shortly after that.

We had a crew at the Rotary Club meeting and will have more on this new task force during out evening newscast so please tune in.

---

There is movement, let the momentum build!

---

Damn Texas spineless lawmakers. State and Local.

---

This is all great...except for one thing "WHERE'S THE FENCE!" to keep'm from comming back.

---

I have one more. But it reflect a couple other articles I read. ACLU is stalking and looking for stuff to attack. They are looking into deaths that accured in detainee camps and dont have any specific details or proof....just looking for something to attack. They make me so angry. These people twist our laws and constitution so bad at times to turn our whole system around.

---

Groups claim small South Jersey city violated free speech rights
By Tom Hester Jr.
The Associated Press, July 9, 2007
http://www.newsday.com/search/ny-bc-nj--immigrationmarch-0709jul09,0,1652442.story

Trenton, NJ (AP) -- A small South Jersey city trampled on the free speech rights of a farmworkers group by charging them $1,500 for holding an immigrant rights rally, a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court alleged.

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey and the Farmworkers Support Committee contend Bridgeton unjustly charged the farmworkers for the May 1 march. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Camden.

'This fee amounts to a user's tax on free speech and that is unconstitutional,' said ACLU-NJ attorney Frank Corrado, who is also representing the Farmworkers Support Committee.

He said Bridgeton is responsible for providing police and other government services for all uses of its public streets, including marches and parades.

'Imposition of these fees will mean that only the wealthy will be afforded the right to speak out on issues, and our Constitution thankfully forbids that,' Corrado said.

The group, which advocates for the human rights of migrant and immigrant workers, held rallies in Bridgeton this year and last year. The city didn't charge the group in 2006, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit states the city initially demanded a $2,000 upfront payment from the group for this year's rally, but dropped that requirement after negotiations with the group and billed the city $1,500 several weeks after the march.

The group asked for the bill to be withdrawn, but the city declined in a June 12 letter.

The lawsuit alleges Bridgeton officials used 'unfettered, arbitrary discretion' in billing the group for police expenses because the city lacks an ordinance authorizing it to impose fees for marches and parades.

'I think this is a way of letting us know that we're not welcome, that they don't want us here in this city,' said Mariza Ibarra, a 44-year-old support committee board member who moved to the United States from Mexico three years ago to join her family.

Neither Bridgeton's city attorney, Theodore Baker, nor its mayor, James Begley, could immediately be reached for comment.

The Cumberland County city is home to 23,000 residents.

---

Lewis W. Jones III said: This is all great...except for one thing "WHERE'S THE FENCE!" to keep'm from comming back.

 

DITTO!!

---

We need to put the ACLU on the other side of that fence when its built. And then for sure put alligators along it. Well , that would be inhumane to the alligators. How about explosive barbed wire...lol

---