California Sheriffs Oppose Bill on Illegal Immigrants

NEW YORK TIMES

By Brooks Barnes

August 28, 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/29/us/california-sheriffs-oppose-bill-on-illegal-immigrants.html

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.