In a ruling that
could have serious consequences nationwide, a federal appellate court
has decided that local police departments aren’t obligated to comply
with federal immigration detainers because they are simply “requests”
not orders.
Under a partnership between state, county, city and federal
authorities local law enforcement agencies around the country notify
immigration officials when an illegal immigrant is arrested. Suspects
are detained in local jails while the feds initiate deportation
proceedings. It’s a valuable team effort designed to rid communities of
dangerous illegal aliens nabbed for committing local crimes, often as
serious as murder, rape and child molestation.
Now we have the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals saying that the
federal regulation allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to
issue the detainers clearly defines them as requests. Besides, the
court found, requiring local officials to hold suspects on federal
immigration violations would violate constitutionally protected states’
rights. To further drive the point home, the three-judge panel added
that “no U.S. Court of Appeals has ever described ICE detainers as
anything but requests.” Secondly, the ruling says, “no provisions of the
Immigration and Nationality Act authorize federal officials to command
local or state officials to detain suspected aliens subject to removal.”
The court was ruling on a Pennsylvania case in which an American
citizen, Ernesto Galarza, was nabbed in a drug raid at the construction
site where he worked. Somehow he was identified by a federal immigration
agent as possibly being in the U.S. illegally and local police in
Allentown held him in Lehigh County Prison. Days later when ICE officers
questioned Galarza, they recognized the mistake and he was released.
Galarza sued Leigh County but his lawsuit was dismissed in 2012 by a
federal judge in Pennsylvania and Galarza appealed to the 3rd Circuit.
The appellate court ruling, issued earlier this month, not only
revives the lawsuit against the county, it could have a major impact on
how local prisons across the nation collaborate with immigration
officials. After all, Galarza was detained by local police because a
federal immigration official had identified him as an illegal alien.
Local authorities assert they took the action because they had to. The
appellate court slammed that argument, writing that immigration
detainers are simply requests made by the feds to local municipalities.
In fact, the court writes in its ruling that “all federal agencies
and departments having an interest in the matter have consistently
described such detainers as requests.” Additionally, it says that all
appellate courts have commented that an immigration detainer by local
police is an “informal procedure” and that Congress has not authorized
federal officials to command state or local officials to detain
suspected aliens subject to removal.
A number of local governments—including Cook County Illinois,
Berkeley California and King County in Washington State—across the
nation have already backed out of the federal detainer program to
protect illegal immigrants living in their jurisdiction.
(Click link below to read more)
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- Judy Chaffee
- This site is the inspiration of a former reporter/photographer for one of New England's largest daily newspapers and for various magazines. The intent is to direct readers to interesting political articles, and we urge you to visit the source sites. Any comments may be noted on site or directed to KarisChaf at gmail.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
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