California Sheriffs Oppose Bill on Illegal Immigrants
August 29, 2012 1:01 pm
By BROOKS BARNES / The New York Times
LOS ANGELES -- Some
California sheriffs are pushing back against a proposed state law that would
bar law enforcement officers from detaining illegal immigrants for deportation
if they have not been charged with serious or violent crimes.
The bill, which the
Legislature sent on Friday to Gov. Jerry Brown, would create what opponents
have called a "sanctuary" for illegal immigrants statewide. It sets
up a new fight over immigration enforcement that comes as Republicans vow at
their national convention in Florida to impose sanctions on states, cities and
counties that adopt similar measures.
Known as the Trust
Act, the bill would require police officers to ignore requests from Immigration
and Customs Enforcement to detain immigrants for deportation, except when
suspects are charged with serious or violent crimes. Mr. Brown has not
indicated where he stands on the proposed law; he must sign or veto it by Sept.
30.
But some local
authorities, including Sheriff Lee Baca of Los Angeles County, say that they
will continue to enforce federal policy regardless of what Mr. Brown does.
"It's pretty simple: Federal law pre-empts state law," said Steve
Whitmore, a spokesman for Sheriff Baca.
Law enforcement
officials in San Diego and Riverside Counties have also expressed dismay with
the Trust Act. Sheriff Robert T. Doyle of Marin County said his "gut
reaction would be to ignore it," adding, "If someone comes to the
county jail and he is not here lawfully, I think he should be turned over"
to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"We are
forcefully pushing for a veto," said Nick Warner, legislative director for
the California State Sheriffs' Association. "The sheriffs of this state
are actively, unalterably and vehemently opposed."
Assemblyman Tom
Ammiano, a Democrat from San Francisco who sponsored the Trust Act, said
"some of the more reasonable sheriffs" are in favor of the law.
"There is always going to be that alpha-male posturing," he said of
Sheriff Baca and other opponents. "The governor has been quiet, but we've
been working with his staff to address concerns, and we know that he knows
doing the right thing here has political cachet," Mr. Ammiano added.
A spokeswoman for Mr.
Brown had no comment.
The Trust Act has
been endorsed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, the police chiefs
of cities like Oakland and San Francisco, immigrant-rights groups and
California's Roman Catholic bishops, among others.
The clash over the
Trust Act involves a federal program called Secure Communities, under which
local authorities share fingerprints with federal immigration officials of
everyone booked. Federal agents run that information through immigration
databases and, if a suspect appears to be in the country illegally, they can
ask police to detain the person for deportation.
The Obama
administration has expanded the Secure Communities program rapidly across the
country, saying that it helps federal agents identify illegal immigrants
arrested by local authorities who have criminal histories. Under a policy
started in June 2011, administration officials have sought to focus their
enforcement efforts on deporting criminal convicts, while steering away from
illegal immigrants arrested in minor offenses like traffic violations.
But many immigrants'
rights and Latino groups say Secure Communities, which aided in the deportation
of nearly 400,000 people last year, has not operated as the administration said
it would, instead sweeping up and deporting many illegal immigrants arrested
for minor violations, separating families.
Dozens of cities and
counties -- prominently Cook County in Illinois -- have adopted
"sanctuary" ordinances that limit police cooperation. Politicians
like Rahm Emanuel, the mayor of Chicago, who is pushing the adoption of such an
ordinance in his city, argue that Secure Communities erodes trust between
police and immigrant communities; when every arrest is a potential deportation,
immigrants might be afraid to report crimes or cooperate with investigators.
"We are also
trying to bring some sanity and clarity to a program that I frankly think has
gone rogue," Mr. Ammiano said. "We want police to distinguish between
the woman selling tamales and the gang member who has a record."
Mr. Ammiano was
referring to Juana Reyes-Hernández, a Sacramento tamale peddler who became a
focal point in the Trust Act debate here after she was arrested for trespassing
in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Ms. Reyes-Hernández spent 13 days in jail while
authorities considered a deportation case. A judge eventually dismissed the
misdemeanor charge, and she remains in the United States.
The implementation of
Secure Communities -- which, opponents to the Trust Act note, Mr. Brown
supported as state attorney general -- has become a hotter political issue as
the presidential election approaches. Republicans meeting in Florida adopted a
party platform that states, "In order to restore the rule of law, federal
funding should be denied to sanctuary cities that violate federal law and
endanger their own citizens."
Meanwhile,
Republicans in Congress are pressing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to
force Cook County to comply with Secure Communities, including by freezing some
federal funding for jails -- something that California sheriffs worry awaits
them if the Trust Act is enacted and they follow it.
Julia Preston
contributed reporting from New York, and Ian Lovett from Los Angeles.
*
THE CA
STATE LEGISLATURE IS NOW CONTROLLED BY LA RAZA! DEMS BUST THEIR FAT CORRUPT
ASSES TO ACCOMMODATE ANYTHING THAT BENEFITS LA RAZA MEXICAN ILLEGALS!
California Sheriffs Protest Anti-Secure Communities Bill
The California legislature has passed a bill designed to
shield illegal aliens from law enforcement and it currently sits on Gov. Jerry
Brown's desk. The "Trust Act" (AB 1081) would prohibit local law
enforcement from complying with federal detention requests except when an
illegal alien has been convicted of, or charged with, a "serious" or
"violent" felony. The crimes that would be a prerequisite for sending
aliens to ICE custody include murder, rape, assault with intent to commit a rape
or robbery, kidnapping, carjacking, and a number of other crimes. Many crimes
like ID theft or ID fraud get a pass. Consequently, a number of sheriffs are
worried that the plan would harm public safety; one sheriff has called on the
governor to veto the bill, while another is contemplating defying the act if it
becomes law.
Specifically, the Trust Act reads:
(a) A law enforcement official has the discretion
to detain an individual on the basis of an immigration hold after that
individual becomes eligible for release from criminal custody, if both of the
following conditions are satisfied:
(1) The individual has been convicted of a serious
or violent felony according to a criminal background check or documentation
provided to the law enforcement official by United States Immigration and
Customs Enforcement or is currently in custody for a charge of a serious or
violent felony by a district attorney.
(2) The continued detention of the individual on
the basis of the immigration hold would not violate any federal, state, or
local law, or any local policy.
(b) If either of the conditions set forth in
subdivision (a) is not satisfied, an individual shall not be detained on the
basis of an immigration hold after that individual becomes eligible for release
from criminal custody.
The apparent goal of the assembly is to limit state-federal
cooperation on immigration and marginalize the successful program known as Secure Communities.
The program has taken tens of thousands of illegal aliens off the streets. Not
surprisingly a new government report finds
that when aliens caught under Secure Communities are released back out onto the
streets, public safety suffers: Between October 2008 and July 2011 aliens
released because of the Obama administration's prioritization scheme went on to
commit 58,000 new crimes. California's Trust Act would likely have the same
consequences.
In the decade after 9/11, and in response to
shortfalls in our national Homeland Security, we have honed close partnerships
between federal, state, and local enforcement that this [bill] now directly
undermines. In addition, law enforcement agencies have executed legal
agreements that are directly impacted by this bill, and we potentially place at
risk of cancelation or repayment, millions of dollars in federal grant funds of
all types where we certify compliance with federal laws. Or worse, we face
years of protracted legal disputes, which will waste scarce county funds that are
already very constrained. For these reasons, I oppose Assembly Bill 1081 and
respectfully request that you veto this measure.
Meanwhile, the office of Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee
Baca has promised it will respect
detention requests from federal officials regardless of any impositions created
by the Trust Act should it become law. According to Baca's spokesman:
Our stance is that federal law trumps state law. If
it were to move forward, we'd adhere to federal law, so we'd still honor ICE
holds.
Similarly, Sonoma County Sheriff Steve Freitas noted:
It would make me break either federal or state law.
I would have to pick which one to break.
San Diego County Sheriff William Gore is reportedly ready
to join the other sheriffs in ignoring the Trust Act if necessary.
Marin County Sheriff Robert T. Doyle tells the New York Times that his
"gut reaction would be to ignore it," adding, "If someone comes
to the county jail and he is not here lawfully, I think he should be turned
over" to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Times also reports that Nick Warner,
legislative director for the California State Sheriffs’ Association, says his
organization is "forcefully pushing for a veto," noting that
"The sheriffs of this state are actively, unalterably and vehemently opposed."
The bill's lead author, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San
Francisco), argues that "California cannot afford to be another
Arizona." He claims that the bill "limits unjust and onerous
detentions for deportation in local jails of community members who do not pose
a threat to public safety." Apparently, the assemblyman believes that
millions of instances of ID theft pose no threat to public safety. He also
seems to think that the enforcement of immigration laws is only justified in
the instance of criminality; he fails to understand that immigration law serves
the purpose of protecting national sovereignty and the value of citizenship. A
number of other goals — like prevention of illegal hiring practices or reducing
strain on social and natural resources — are not on the assemblyman's radar.
This is a great bill for foreigners in the United States
illegally who wish to continue engaging in ID theft and a whole host of other
crimes. It is a horrible bill for the legal residents of California who want
the rule of law to actually mean something. If California's legal residents
cannot rely on law enforcement or their state representatives to protect them
from lawlessness, does the state's Article 1, Section 1 constitutional
declaration of the right of "safety, happiness, and privacy" really
exist? And what of the following passage from Article
1, Section 28:
California's victims of crime are largely dependent
upon the proper functioning of government, upon the criminal justice system and
upon the expeditious enforcement of the rights of victims of crime described
herein, in order to protect the public safety and to secure justice when the
public safety has been compromised by criminal activity.
To the extent that the Trust Act would protect aliens
engaged in so-called "non-violent" crimes — which undoubtedly
nonetheless compromise public safety — it would appear that the bill cannot be
upheld under the state's own constitution.
. WILL MEXICO BANKRUPT AMERICA?
CALIFORNIA UNDER
MEXICAN-OCCUPATION PAYS OUT $22 BILLION PER YEAR IN SOCIAL SERVICES TO
ILLEGALS!
THE MEXICAN CRIME TIDAL
WAVE SPREADS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES
Everyday
there are 12 Americans murdered by Mexicans and 8 children molested!
California
Attorney Gen Kamala Harris announced that nearly HALF of all murders in
Mex-occupied CA are by MEX GANGS!
*
HEATHER Mac DONALD
THE ILLEGAL (MEXICAN) CRIME TIDAL WAVE:
http://mexicanoccupation.blogspot.com/2011/05/heather-mac-donald-illegal-alien-crime.html
*
WILL OHIO BE BANKRUPTED
BY THE LA RAZA MEX-OCCUPATION THAT NOT ONE LEGAL VOTED FOR?
*
HOW MANY BILLIONS ARE
MARYLANDERS FORCED TO PAY FOR MEX WELFARE AND LOOTING?
*
BARACK OBAMA, FIRST
HISPANDERING LA RAZA “THE RACE” PRESIDENT – HIS LA RAZA SUPREMACIST INFESTED
ADMINISTRATION:
*
OBAMA AND MEXICO
PROMISE ILLEGALS JUMPING OUR BORDERS OBAMACARE, “FREE” MEDICAL, “FREE” ANCHOR
BABY BIRTHING = 18 YEARS WELFARE, AND OUR JOBS!
*
ROBERT RECTOR: THE
STAGGERING COST OF MEXICO’S INVASION, OCCUPATION AND EVER GROWING WELFARE STATE
*
THE LOOTING OF AMERICA
BY MEXICO, BARACK OBAMA and ERIC HOLDER
OBAMA’S HISPANICAZATION of AMERICA:
*
ANCHOR BABIES – HOW
MEXICO ANCHORS THEIR OCCUPATION AND EXPAND THEIR WELFARE STATE IN OUR BORDERS!