Farmers Branch denied entry to program to identify, deport jailed illegal migrants...

Farmers Branch denied entry to program to identify, deport jailed illegal migrants


By Stephanie Sandoval
The Dallas Morning News, March 19, 2008

After waiting nearly a year and a half, Farmers Branch has learned that it probably won't get into a federal program that trains jail officers to identify illegal immigrants and start deportation proceedings, Police Chief Sid Fuller says.

But the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has offered an alternative in the city's efforts to expel illegal immigrants.

Under that alternative, a Farmers Branch detective would work part time on a regional task force, probably one targeting document and benefit fraud.

The investigator would be trained to use federal databases and interview suspects to determine if they are in the country illegally.

When not working on the task force or on other duties, the detective would be available to help identify illegal immigrants at the jail.

'It's another tool to help us keep the community safe,' Chief Fuller said. 'As he's investigating crime, if he identifies a suspect who happens to also be in this country illegally, he'll have the authority to process that individual.'

The chief said the move would require adding a police position, something City Manager Gary Greer said would probably happen with the start of the next fiscal year Oct. 1.

City Council members said that although they were frustrated that the city didn't get into the program it wanted, called 287(g), they support the new plan, which the chief briefed them about Tuesday night.

'Every tool the city can use to address this issue, the city will be better off,' Mayor Pro Tem Tim O'Hare said.

'If we stay the course, we'll get the results our residents desire.'

Council member Ben Robinson agreed. 'I think we ought to do it. I think we ought to hire you a detective,' he said.

Even without 287(g), hundreds of illegal immigrants have been identified in the city jail through another alternative, the Criminal Alien Program.

Under CAP, jail officers ask all prisoners whether they were born in the U.S.

If the detainees can't show they are here legally, the department contacts ICE agents, who interview them to verify their immigration status.

Those not in the country legally are detained up to 48 hours so ICE agents can take them into custody. Since about August 2006, Farmers Branch has detained 659 such prisoners, all of whom were taken by ICE, the chief said. He said the city could continue participating in CAP.

Under CAP, the Farmers Branch Police Department is basically a 'referral system' for ICE, the chief said. Under 287(g), a jail detention officer is trained to do the job that ICE agents are doing under CAP. But Chief Fuller said entry into the 287(g) program appears to be a dead issue.

'They're trying to get the most bang for their buck, and we're a pretty small operation,' he said.

The department applied for the program in November 2006, at the direction of the City Council. ICE visited to evaluate the department, the chief said, 'then everything just sat.'

About 41 law enforcement agencies in the country participate in 287(g), according to the ICE Web site, but most are county or state agencies and none are from Texas.

Agency spokesman Richard Rocha said about 85 agencies have pending requests to participate.

Chief Fuller said Farmers Branch was told last year that funding for 287(g) had run out but that the city would be considered after October, when a new fiscal year started. Carrollton police Sgt. John Singleton said his department, which had also applied for 287(g), was told the same thing.

Mr. Rocha said he couldn't discuss pending requests for 287(g) but that funding isn't an issue. The program's budget has risen from $5 million in 2005-06 to $25.3 million this year.

Mr. Rocha said ICE works to match law enforcement agencies with the proper program and that in some cases that may not be 287(g). Other ICE programs target child predators, violent gangs and money laundering, among other crimes.



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