San Diego Law Enforcement Officials Declare They Will Not Help With Deportation Crackdown
Under the guidance of President Donald Trump’s executive orders, the Department of Homeland Security has expanded the latitude of immigration agents to round up and arrest unauthorized immigrants. Anyone in the U.S. less than two years could be deported immediately, those detained will be held until their court hearings, and parents who paid to have their children smuggled into the U.S. can be arrested and/or deported, CBS News reports.
There is concern immigration enforcement and deportation of workers could result in labor shortages, especially in certain industries, like construction, manufacturing, hospitality, restaurants, retail and agriculture, as the Wall Street Journal reports.
The latest moves include expanding the 287(g) program, a federal program that enlists local law enforcement officials to assist in investigating, arresting and detaining unauthorized immigrants. Thirty-two enforcement agencies in 16 states have formal 287(g) agreements, and DHS memos call for engaging more law enforcement jurisdictions in them.
San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said his department will not enter into that agreement, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Gore said his department already cooperates extensively with federal immigration authorities in the county jails, through task forces and in other ways, but he will not ask his deputies to do immigration enforcement, nor does he want his officers perceived in the community as immigration officers.
San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman issued a statement citing ways the department cooperates with federal authorities. While she did not mention whether her department would sign a 287(g) agreement, she said her department’s long-standing policy is that immigration enforcement is a federal matter after someone is arrested and jailed. Zimmerman said the San Diego Police Department does not check immigration status of victims or witnesses to crimes to encourage people come forward.
The DHS called for hiring 10,000 ICE officers and 5,000 Border Patrol agents and expanding their powers to arrest and report unauthorized immigrants. DHS is also increasing short- and long-term detention facilities. An ICE statement said detention space has already been increased by 1,000 beds nationwide, but more will be needed to house the thousands of detainees expected.
ICE already has an immigration jail in Otay Mesa with 1,204 beds, the Union-Tribune reports, and a second facility in Calexico in Imperial County has 782 beds. Meanwhile, Tijuana is bracing for what officials believe will be a drastic increase in deportees.
Many deportees have been in the U.S. for 25 or 30 years, said the Rev. Patrick Murphy, director of the 150-bed migrant shelter Casa del Migrante in Tijuana. He said the Mexican government is not prepared for the arrival of large numbers of people deportation is likely to deliver in this border city.
