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1. GAO report questions 287(g)
2. Feds praise TN outreach program
3. AZ co. to resist changes to 287(g)
4. NJ town to move with 287(g)
5. VA activists to protest

1.
Crackdown on illegal immigration brings distrust, racial profiling risks
GAO report shows misfires in program
By Sheena Mcfarland
The Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City), March 6, 2009

A recent federal study gives credence to immigrant community activists' fears that a proposed local-federal strike force could lead to racial profiling and drive a wedge of distrust between undocumented residents and law enforcement.

Rep. Brad Dee, R-Washington Terrace, is pushing for the formation of a nearly $1 million strike force to target felonies in the immigrant community ranging from document fraud to human and drug trafficking.

Local law enforcement would join ranks with agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to target what Dee assures would be only the worst criminals among those in the country illegally.

However, the federal Government Accountability Office -- the investigative arm of Congress -- released a report this week raising questions about such partnerships.

The report shows that four of 29 reviewed agencies where local law enforcement work with ICE to target major criminals were instead deporting people for minor offenses, such as having an open container of alcohol or speeding.

While that's not prohibited, it isn't practical, either, investigators found.

"If all the participating agencies sought assistance to remove aliens for such minor offenses, ICE would not have detention space to detain all of the aliens referred to them," the report states.

The report added that more than half of the 29 agencies surveyed said community members had expressed concerns that the federal-local collaboration would lead to racial profiling and intimidation by law-enforcement officials.
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http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_11847246

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2.
Serpas' immigrant outreach working, feds say
El Protector's work to dispel fears in Metro is praised
By Kate Howard
The Tennessean (Nashville), March 6, 2009

While thousands of Nashville's illegal immigrants are arrested and deported, El Protectors have been going about the tough business of making the blue uniform friendly.

It was the uniform that scared off a young Hispanic man and woman going into the Linbar Market, filled with piñatas, tortillas and fresh produce. When they saw the Metro police officers through the glass door, they turned back for the car. Gilbert Ramirez leaned out the door and smiled.

"Entre," he said, holding the door open and patting them on the back as they passed.

"They see our presence and they get scared," he said, shrugging.

Ramirez is one of two Metro officers called El Protectors, commissioned to ensure the Hispanic community knows they have someone to turn to. The program, begun in 2005, was listed as a best practice by a report, commissioned by the U.S. Department of Justice and released last week, about crossing the language barrier.

The officers work in a time when immigrants are leery of police because more than 5,000 people booked at the Metro jail have been deported.

Since 2007, every foreign-born person booked into the jail in Nashville has been screened by Davidson County sheriff's deputies trained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement under a program referred to as 287g, and anyone living in the country illegally is sent to federal custody for eventual deportation.

Though Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas maintains that the deportation is a separate process and the police are doing their jobs the same way as before, community advocates say that illegal immigrants still fear speaking to police will put them in danger.

Serpas says those fears — fear of the police, and the concern that crime is underreported — are unfounded.

"To the concern that there is some gap occurring between crime reporting of Hispanics and fear of the police department, I think we have two things to point to," Serpas said.

"Our program has been identified as a best practice in the nation, and we're seeing more crime reports from Hispanic surnames coming through the police department."

Serpas attributes success in that category to the El Protector program, which he says puts an approachable and Spanish-speaking face on the department. But advocates for the immigrant communities say that as long as people are deported for offenses such as driving without a license, their battle to win trust from the Hispanic population will be uphill.
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http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090306/NEWS01/903060367/1002

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3.
Revisions could prompt Arpaio's ICE-program exit
By Daniel González
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix), March 6, 2009

Homeland Security officials will make it clear in newly written guidelines that a federal program that lets local police enforce federal immigration laws is primarily for going after immigrants who commit serious crimes.

But Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Thursday that he would likely drop out of the program if immigration officials attempt to curtail his enforcement powers, including his ability to arrest immigrants for merely being in the country illegally.

That wouldn't be the end of Arpaio's controversial immigration crackdowns, which have led to allegations of racial profiling.

Arpaio said that even if he drops out of the federal program he will continue arresting illegal immigrants under the state's human smuggling law and employer sanctions laws. He said he also would turn over any suspected illegal immigrants his deputies encounter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement even if they haven't committed any offense other than being in the country illegally.

"If the (federal) program gets too strict, then I am going to have to seriously reconsider," Arpaio said. "But I'm still going to enforce state laws, and when we come across illegal immigrants, we are going to take action."

ICE officials are rewriting the rules of the program, known as 287(g), in response to a federal report that found the program lacks clear goals about what kinds of criminals should be targeted. The report by the Government Accountability Office also found that the program fails to supervise local officers and does not detail what kind of crime and arrest data local agencies should be collecting.

The new rules and agreements will clarify that program participants are to focus on undocumented immigrants who commit serious crimes, such as assault, rape or murder.

"I like it the way it is now," Arpaio said of the two-year-old agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The two-pronged agreement allows sheriff's deputies to identify and arrest illegal immigrants they encounter on the street while investigating other crimes. It also allows jail officials to place immigration holds on inmates suspected of being in the country illegally.
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http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/03/06/20090...

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4.
Morristown advances on immigration enforcement
Mayor:Changes in federal law clear path for local police effort
By Minhaj Hassan
The Daily Record (Parsippany, NJ), March 6, 2009

Morristown, NJ -- A major sticking point in the town's effort to participate in a federal program that allows local police to enforce immigration rules has been eliminated.

Changes in the federal law, known as 287G, mean the town would no longer need to use the county jail to house any illegal immigrants arrested as a result of the program. The county had rejected the town's efforts to use its facility to participate in the program.

Mayor Donald Cresitello said Thursday that he is still interested in having the town's officers deputized to enforce immigration laws under the Homeland Security program, which is currently under review by the federal government.

"Our application is pending," Cresitello said. "The program is currently on hold by the federal government. We are waiting to see what changes will be made."

The mayor said he recently returned a document to Immigration and Customs Enforcement expressing the town's continued interest in the program. ICE had sent the document saying it was making some changes to the program and asking if the town was still interested in participating, said Cresitello, adding implementation of the program is not imminent.

"Knowing how slow the wheels of government turn, it will probably take another year before anything happens," Cresitello said.
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http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20090306/COMMUNITIES32/903060355/1005...

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5.
Immigrant detention center protest set for tomorrow
By Jamie C. Ruff
The Richmond Times Dispatch, March 6, 2009

Farmville, VA -- Opponents of a privately run immigrant detention center proposed for Farmville said yesterday that 300 protesters are expected to turn out for a rally and march tomorrow.

"The calls continue to come in every day, so that [number] could change," said Jeff Winder, a spokesman for the Virginia Immigrant People's Coalition, which is organizing the event and is described as a network of organizations concerned with "immigrant justice."

Among the localities from which protesters will be coming are Northern Virginia, Lynchburg, Washington, Richmond and Fredericksburg, said Winder, who is from Nelson County.

Opponents are to gather at noon in the town's Riverside Park. At 2:30 p.m. they will march downtown to Town Hall, where there will be speakers and music, Winder said. The protest is expected to last until 5 p.m.

Opponents hope to derail plans for a privately owned, 1,040-bed detention center, though Town Manager Gerald J. Spates has said efforts to build the facility are on track, with the site cleared and the permits obtained.

Spates said the protest efforts are misdirected.

"Everybody's got a right to protest," Spates said. "The protest should be with the federal government. . . . We're just trying to provide a facility where these people will be housed in comfort."
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http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/article/FARM06_20090305-2230...