Mayor Vincent Gray signed a policy on Wednesday that prohibits city police from asking about immigration status, but city officials said the District still plans to comply with the federal Secure Communities initiative aimed at identifying and deporting illegal immigrants accused of committing other crimes. The executive order, which confirmed a long-standing policy, drew praise from immigrant rights groups that packed the room on Wednesday. The District’s Office of Latino Affairs had invited people to the event, calling it an important symbolic gesture.
In late September, demonstrators, including the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, had rallied at city hall to ask for an executive order protecting immigrants against the federal program.
— Scott McCabe
| Other jurisdictions |
| Here’s how law enforcement agencies around the Washington area handle the immigration issue: |
| • Arlington County — Says it never asks a person’s immigration status, but that inmates’ fingerprints are being sent to state authorities. |
| • Fairfax County — Police never ask. Once an arrested person is booked at the jail, they are asked whether they are U.S. citizens and their country of origin. Fairfax County is a member of Secured Communities. Arrestees are finger-printed, and checked through a database of FBI criminal records and ICE immigration records. If individuals are matched in Immigration and Customs Enforcement database, the sheriff’s office is notified and ICE evaluates each case and determines the immigration status and takes appropriate enforcement action. |
| • Montgomery County — Police do not ask immigration status, but will note the country of origin as part of the arrest process. Not a member of Secured Communities. Fingerprints forwarded to the FBI are not forwarded to immigration authorities. |
| • Prince George’s County — Police have a strict “don’t ask” policy when it comes to immigration status. They say they let ICE handle checking immigration status once a perpetrator is booked by the Department of Corrections and fingerprints are passed along to federal officials. |
| • Loudoun County — Is a member of Secured Communities. Also belongs to a 287 G program that allows the county to begin the detainer process to hold a suspected illegal immigrant without the presence of an ICE special agent. |
| • Prince William County — Police do not ask a person’s immigration status until they have been arrested and taken to jail. If the person says he is here illegally, the jail reports it to immigration authorities. |
The order says police cannot ask a person about their immigration status during arrest or incarceration. However fingerprints of those arrested for violent crimes will still be sent to the FBI, as is federally mandated. It is the job of the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to check immigration status of those arrested and issue a detainer for that individual if necessary.
But the order also mandates that those individuals will be held no longer than the federally required 48 hours before being released, unless ordered held without bail. Law enforcement officials could not say whether there had been cases where immigrants in city jails had been detained longer than the two days mandated by ICE.
“But I think now it’s going to be clear … we’re not going to take action,” said Peter Newsham, assistant chief of the Investigative Services Bureau.
However officials also said D.C. is still complying with the FBI and will continue to do so.
“It’s not something you ‘opt out’ of,” said Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Paul Quander. “It’s not something we want to opt out of.”
The fanfare around a clarification order had some council sources questioning whether the announcement was more political than substantive. Outside of city hall, others hinted that Gray was pandering.
“The mayor’s move today will certainly make a specific group pleased,” said Paul Craney, executive director of the D.C. Republican Committee.
For decades, local jurisdictions have shared the fingerprints of individuals who are booked into jails with the FBI to see if they have a criminal record. Under Secure Communities, the FBI will automatically send the fingerprints to ICE to check against its immigration databases.
Gray’s order clarifies that D.C. will only be sending fingerprints of individuals arrested for violent crimes, said Police Chief Cathy Lanier. She added that is how the District cooperates with the FBI now.
Newsham said the order’s biggest effect will be with witness cooperation.
“You go into certain neighborhoods, immigrant communities, and people are reluctant to talk to police,” he said. “We’re hopeful it’ll change that.”
