Sheriffs' offices try to navigate immigration law (The Tennessean)

Sheriffs' offices try to navigate immigration law
Some don't have resources or training specific to the task

By JANELL ROSS • Staff Writer • March 16, 2009

Some Middle Tennessee sheriffs' offices are being pushed further into enforcing immigration law without resources or training specific to the task.

Sheriffs in Robertson, Wilson and Williamson counties pass the names of suspected illegal immigrants in their jails on to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, often paving the way to deportation.

The sheriffs say they're doing their best to fulfill their local responsibilities but, in the process, are forced to navigate the nation's broken immigration system. Some immigrant advocates say the sheriffs' efforts amount to ethnic profiling and generate unhealthy fears of law enforcement.

Robertson County Sheriff Gene Bollinger calls it doing what he has to do.

"We don't go hunting for them," he said. "I don't believe in that. But we are going to enforce the law the best way we can with whatever tools a little department like ours has got."

Since January, Robertson County has transferred 23 suspected illegal immigrants to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. Transfer numbers were unavailable this week from the other two counties.

ICE encourages local law enforcement to contact them if they suspect an inmate is a foreign national, said Temple Black, an agency spokesperson.

The U.S. State Department issues an annual handbook that walks jailers though their responsibilities under the terms of the Geneva and Vienna conventions.

The department doesn't address whether local jailers should ask immigration status questions or what to do if a suspected illegal immigrant is in custody, a state department official said Tuesday.

Terry Ashe, Wilson County's sheriff, calls the situation "a basic failure of policy." His office sends the names of non-U.S. citizens, or at least those who acknowledge they are, to ICE.

"When we come in contact with illegal immigrants in our jail, there is the practical issue … although we don't have the authority to enforce immigration law," he said. "Then there is the political issue. There is a real strong public outcry here about the illegal immigration."

The Williamson County Sheriff's Office refers suspected illegal immigrants to ICE based on charges — sex offenses, felonies, violent crimes, burglary, multiple driving under the influence or driving without a license.

Officials also send along names of those previously deported, said Sgt. Theresa Gray, who oversees the records division.

In the final six months of 2007, Williamson County booked 443 "undocumented aliens." The number ultimately transferred to ICE custody was not available this week.
Davidson has program

Wilson and Williamson counties are two of 95 law enforcement agencies nationwide that have applied to participate in a federal program that provides training on immigration and civil rights.

It also would give them access to a database and equipment that allows them to conduct direct and more complete inquires about an inmate's immigration status.

The Davidson County Sheriff's Office launched its program, dubbed 287g, which is named after a section of the federal immigration code, last year.

In one year, it processed nearly 3,000 suspected illegal immigrants. Most were deported or voluntarily left the country, the agency has said.

"What this really comes down to is a question of resources," said Jim Pendergraph, a former Mecklenberg County, N.C., sheriff who oversees ICE interactions with local law enforcement. "We have to try to do the most we can with the little money we've got."

In the meantime, sheriffs in Robertson, Wilson and Williamson counties can share the names of suspected illegal immigrants with ICE's Law Enforcement Support Center in Vermont or with an ICE office in Nashville.

The Vermont operation processes more than 728,000 inquiries each year from nearly 500 law enforcement agencies across the country.

Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall has said repeatedly the limited response from the Vermont clearinghouse led him to release suspected illegal immigrants — including a drunk driver who caused a fatal accident — and ultimately participate in the 287g program.

In December, Robertson County Sheriff Gene Bollinger issued a memo to deputies ordering that people stopped for traffic violations without ID are to be arrested, not cited. Once brought to jail, the names of all non-U.S. citizens without ID are to be sent to ICE.

If ICE does not respond or the background check returns "clear," Robertson collects more information from the inmate and then faxes it back to ICE with a note that the person is suspected of being in the U.S. illegally.

"We aren't trying to enforce the immigration law. We don't have any kind of an authority to do that. We're passing what we have to the folks that do," Bollinger said.

The Rev. Tommy Vallejos, executive director of Clarksville-based HOPE, a Middle Tennessee Hispanic Advocacy organization, said he is concerned about Robertson County's two-step policy because officers must work from their suspicions without training in immigration matters. He said deputies have not managed to target "dangerous criminals" exclusively.

And the policy has had an impact that may not have been expected, he said. A Latino U.S. citizen couple Vallejos knows recently left Robertson County, tired of suspiciously frequent traffic stops, he said. And a Latino woman born in Texas considering a move to Middle Tennessee recently called Vallejos with questions about the area he wishes he didn't have to answer.

"This can't be good for Tennessee," he said. "People in Tennessee are scared of the police and people in other states think we're racists."