OBAMA LOADS OUR SECURITY WITH OPEN BORDERS – AMNESTY LA RAZA PARTY MEMBERS….
Former HPD police chief takes job with ICE
By SUSAN CARROLL
Copyright 2010 HOUSTON CHRONICLE
June 23, 2010, 8:53PM
Mayra Beltran Chronicle
Former HPD Chief Harold Hurtt, 63, said Wednesday that he accepted the position as director of ICE's Office of State and Local Coordination.
Former Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt, who has been a vocal critic of a controversial program at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has taken a high-profile job at the federal agency.
At ICE, Hurtt will act as the new director in charge of outreach with local and state law enforcement and non-governmental organizations.
Hurtt, 63, said Wednesday that he accepted the position as director of ICE's Office of State and Local Coordination, which is primarily tasked with outreach efforts, not oversight of ICE's partnerships with local law enforcement. He will officially start the job, which he said pays about $180,000 a year, on July 6.
Hurtt, who served as chief in Houston until he resigned in December, criticized one of ICE's key programs involving local law enforcement during his tenure here and in his former role as head of the Major Cities Chiefs Association.
He said in his new role, he plans to focus on providing accurate information on illegal immigration to law enforcement partners to "avoid emotional responses" to the issue. He also said he hopes to create a stakeholder group to help improve ICE's outreach efforts.
Hurtt and former Mayor Bill White faced harsh criticism during their tenures over the city's role in immigration enforcement. Much of the conflict during the past year focused on HPD's participation — or lack thereof - in ICE's 287(g) program, which trains local law enforcement to assist ICE with immigration screening.
ILLEGALS LOVE THIS OBAMA PICK!
Backlash to policy
Hurtt and the former mayor announced in spring 2009 that the city would participate in 287(g), provided it was confined to the city's jails. Hurtt steadfastly opposed having Houston officers question people in the field about their immigration status.
That decision resulted in backlash from some members of the police union and anti-illegal immigrant advocates but won him praise of leaders in Houston's immigrant community.
Hurtt said Wednesday that his reluctance stemmed in part from HPD's "resource capabilities."
"I had concerns about officers in the field concentrating their efforts and resources on the enforcement of immigration," Hurtt said.
He also said he feared that having officers question suspects in the field could result in fewer members of immigrant communities coming forward to report crime.
"I think that was a legitimate concern and still is," Hurtt said.
The city eventually backed away from participating in 287(g) and instead chose another ICE partnership, called Secure Communities, which runs fingerprint-based immigration history checks on all suspects booked into the local jails and notifies ICE automatically of any "hits" in the system.
Hurtt said that in his new role, he will support local law enforcement agencies' decision to participate in any ICE program of their choosing, even if it involves questioning suspects on the street about their status.
"That's a decision that needs to be made at a local level," he said.
TYPICAL OBAMA SOLUTION: SABOTAGE OUR BORDERS, WHILE CLAIMING THAT BORDER SECURITY IS THE CORNERSTONE OF HIS LA RAZA AMNESTY = ILLEGALS VOTES!
'Extremely hypocritical'
Curtis Collier, with the Spring-based U.S. Border Watch, said it was "extremely hypocritical" for Hurtt to take the position.
"There's no way you can head up an office if you don't believe in what the office is supposed to do," Collier said. "Immigration and Customs Enforcement's primary mission is to protect the American people. If this guy believes any of these programs should not be enforced, he's certainly going to be a very weak advocate for them."
Cesar Espinosa, a Houston immigrant advocate, said Hurtt was always "welcoming and open" to the concerns of immigrant advocates.
"We felt that as chief, he actually believed that the main focus of police should be to protect the community as a whole, regardless of immigration status," Espinosa said.
John Morton, Homeland Security assistant secretary for ICE, praised Hurtt's appointment.
"Chief Hurtt is a respected member of the law enforcement community and understands the concerns of local law enforcement leaders," Morton said.
LOOK AT THE MEXICAN CRIME RATES IN PHOENIX – HOME INVASION, CAR THEFT, AND KIDNAPPING CAPITAL OF AMERICA, AND NOW CAPITAL OF NARCOMEX’S DRUG CARTEL INROAD!
Before heading up the 7,000-strong HPD in 2004, Hurtt served as the police chief in Phoenix, Ariz.
susan.carroll@chron.com
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