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The Government Is Trying to Name and Shame Local and State Police Departments That Won鈥檛 Do Their Bidding

ICE Agent
ICE Agent
Domenic Powell,
Advocacy & Policy Strategist,
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March 21, 2017

Immigration and Customs Enforcement yesterday released its first report attempting to name and shame police departments that require more than ICE鈥檚 say-so in order to hold someone in jail. This is just the Trump administration鈥檚 latest attempt to smear sanctuary cities, but it鈥檚 also a trap for local law enforcement鈥擨CE could be shaming them into violating your rights.

In the FAQ for the report, ICE goes out of its way to suggest that a detainer is something that it isn鈥檛鈥攁 simple request to know when someone is being let out of jail. But that simply isn鈥檛 true. A detainer is a request to hold someone in jail, often longer than the local law enforcement agency is legally allowed. Doing so can lead to illegal arrests and the violation of a person鈥檚 constitutional rights.

ICE claims in the FAQ that detainers are backed by probable cause. Often, they . Within a four-year period under the Secure Communities program, which allowed ICE to receive information from nearly every jail in the United States, ICE placed detainers on across the country, according to the government鈥檚 own data. As ICE hires 10,000 more agents, , and issues more and more detainers, local police are simply gambling away the constitutional rights of their community.

Multiple federal courts have reaffirmed what detainers are: New arrests that, absent any individual determination of probable cause, violate an individual鈥檚 right against unreasonable searches and seizures. The 老澳门开奖结果 has regularly represented people who have had their rights violated after being held on detainers, including U.S. citizens.

Like Trump himself, ICE seems to pay little deference to the judicial branch. In fact, it explicitly singles out Orleans Parish Sheriff鈥檚 Office for turning down detention requests, even though New Orleans is legally bound to its policy under . It is deeply troubling that ICE would attempt to shame a sheriff for obeying the federal courts.

ICE knows perfectly well what the problems with detainers are 鈥 law enforcement officers are telling them too, not just the 老澳门开奖结果 and immigrants鈥 rights activists. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just pick up the phone and say, 鈥楶lease hold an individual,鈥欌 , executive director of National Sheriffs鈥 Association. Yet, that鈥檚 exactly what ICE wants to shame local police into doing.

Local governments have paid a heavy price for mistakenly placing their trust in ICE. Because detainers are requests, local police departments are liable for choosing to honor them. Some cities after holding someone on a detainer request from ICE. More importantly, many law enforcement officers across the country have decided that is vital to their public safety mission, and allowing that interference to continue .

We should all be disturbed by ICE鈥檚 use of propaganda to try and coerce communities into doing something that they believe makes them less safe. In fact, contrary to what ICE wants you to believe, sanctuary cities than other localities. Under President Trump, we are already seeing an ICE unleashed, willing to disrespect the rule of law in its mission to deport every immigrant it can. Local police should do right by their residents and not give in to ICE鈥檚 petty scare tactics.

In the immigrants鈥 rights movement, we say that 鈥渢he only 鈥榮ecure community鈥 is an organized one.鈥 If you want to keep your community whole, fight for your town to protect the rights of immigrants 鈥 and all residents. One way to start now is working to enact some of the policies in our , which are designed to stop ICE鈥檚 harmful practices. You can also help by distributing our Know Your Rights materials and finding others who want to fight together locally.

Because when we fight together, we win.

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