Posted on 12/11/2007 1:31:11 AM PST by Nickname
The federal government just made it a bit tougher for local jurisdictions to become trained in Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
On Monday, Manassas police Chief John J. Skinner told the city council that the possibility of piggybacking the Prince William-Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center's memorandum of agreement with ICE won't be possible.
Manassas, Manassas Park, Prince William County and the sheriff's department will now have to apply separately for federal approval, Skinner said. The Department of Homeland Security said it "was not prepared to establish a precedent for the rest of the country."
Manassas has received the paperwork on the basics of an agreement from ICE, but Skinner said the city wants to add elements to it before returning its application. Those elements include listing the criminal offenses that the council would like to see applicable for deportation.
This summer, a plan was created called the Prince William Regional Criminal Alien Initiative. That program would've combined the efforts of Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park police departments with the Sheriff's Department and the jail in order to arrest and eventually deport criminal illegal immigrants.
On Aug. 1, Prince William County police Chief Charlie T. Deane, Prince William Sheriff Glendell Hill, Skinner and Manassas Park police Chief John Evans signed a letter requesting that the recent memorandum of agreement between ICE and the regional jail board would be amended to include their respective jurisdictions. That would mean each jurisdiction represented would receive the necessary ICE training that select members of the regional jail have already received.
After Skinner's briefing, Councilman Steven Randolph expressed his disappointment with the latest development.
"It [amending the jail agreement] was the logical thing to do, the economical thing to do so I am not surprised that the federal government decided to do something different," Randolph said.
The feds also told Manassas, Manassas Park and the Sheriff's office that they will be unable to have identification work stations similar to the ones being used at the regional jail in their own facilities. Skinner said the only other facility scheduled to have that technology will be the Gar-Field substation, located near U.S. 1 on the east side of the county.
"It's going to be inconvenient but I don't know if it makes a problem for us," Skinner said.
While the jurisdictions and the feds work out their agreement in the coming months, ICE has dedicated one spot for the city in its winter training session located in a federal facility in South Carolina, said Skinner.
Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-369-5738.
Not.
How hard can it be really, to train someone to check their immigration status? Why are the feds so afraid of upholding the Constitution?
cops have no problem checking your insurance card
Chertoff is a lying weasel and DHS is a complete joke. ‘Nuff said!
287g training from ICE sought by many U.S. jurisdictions
After receiving approximately 4 1/2 weeks of ICE training, state and local police and sheriff’s deputies have the authority to help enforce U.S. immigration laws.
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