O.C. Sheriff's Revised Plan Still Wrong Approach for Community Safety
Due to the efforts of the ACLU of Southern California and other local groups to educate and organize the community, the plan by Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona to turn a significant portion of his deputies into de facto immigration agents, which seemed a fait accompli a year ago, was sharply scaled back by county supervisors. But because of the significant threat that the concept still poses to the civil rights and general safety of residents, we remain opposed to the plan.
“Any plan to take deputies away from their everyday duties threatens public safety,” said ACLU/SC staff attorney Nora Preciado. “Blurring the line between local law enforcement and immigration enforcement will make it harder for police to serve all residents and particularly vulnerable groups such as day laborers and victims of domestic violence.”
Having local officers enforce immigration laws critically erodes relationships with immigrant communities and undermines public safety. Victims of crime, particularly those suffering from domestic abuse, would stop reporting incidents or helping police solve crimes for fear of consequences if their immigration status is not in order. The sheriff ’s plan also opens the door to a host of potential civil rights violations, exposing any resident who doesn’t look or sound “American” to harassment.
Carona originally wanted to deputize 150 to 200 of his officers to work as immigration officials in the Department’s investigation unit and jail operations under an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Eventually he planned to expand the program to include patrol officers.
The revised plan, which was approved by the Orange County Board of Supervisors in October, involves training 24 deputies to provide immigration enforcement within Orange County’s jails.
Local jurisdictions have been allowed to enforce immigration laws since 1996 as part of the Immigration Reform Act, which contains provisions allowing local agencies to form agreements to do so. However, national law-enforcement experts oppose cross-designating local police as immigration officers because of the threat to public safety from undermining relations between police and immigrant communities.
We will continue to monitor this project.
DECEMBER 2006
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Californians Again Put Teen Health and Safety First
Upholding the Rule of Law for Immigrants in Illegal Detention
Judge Orders L.A. County to Fix Jail Intake Center Overcrowding
ACLU/SC Deplores Latest Incidents of Police Brutality
O.C. Sheriff's Revised Plan Still Wrong Approach for Community Safety
