ICE investigates Caribbean nationals by way of subpeona
BY NELSON A. KING
In its heightened bid to arrest
and deport illegal Caribbean
and other immigrants, the
United States Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE)
says it has served the San Diego
County Sheriff’s Offi ce (SDSO)
in California with subpeonas
demanding information about
illegal immigrants arrested in
San Diego.
“Issuance of these immigration
subpoenas is necessary
because the SDSO is forced to
comply with California’s sanctuary
state laws, and, therefore,
cannot cooperate in honoring
immigration detainers
or requests for non-public information
to assist in locating
criminal aliens that have been
or will be released from custody,”
said ICE in a statement
on Friday.
Gregory Archambeault,
San Diego Field Offi ce Director
for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal
Operations (ERO) in San
Diego, said “the public needs to
be aware and concerned that
California sanctuary state laws
do not protect public safety and
is bad public policy.”
ICE said that the US Congress
has provided it with the
use of “statutorily-authorized
immigration subpoenas” to
obtain information as part
of investigations regarding
potential removable immigrants.
Caribbean Life, F 16 ebruary 21-27, 2020
The immigration enforcement
agency said that it has not
historically needed to use its
lawful authority to issue subpoenas
for information from
other law enforcement agencies,
“as most law enforcement
agencies throughout the country
willingly provide ICE with
information regarding aliens
arrested for crimes in the interest
of public safety.”
ICE said it is “using every
tool available to obtain information
regarding the whereabouts
and other relevant information
regarding removable
aliens from jurisdictions that
choose to, or are unable to, cooperate”
with it.
The immigration subpoenas
in California are the fi rst in
that state, ICE said, stating that
it has also issued similar immigration
subpoenas in Denver,
Connecticut and New York.
The subpoenas came as
United States President Donald
J. Trump is deploying elite tactical
agents from the country’s
southern border to escalate aid
in targeting undocumented Caribbean
and other immigrants
in so-called “sanctuary cities”,
such as New York, San Francisco,
Los Angeles and Chicago.
Sanctuary cities limit cooperation
with the Trump administration’s
heightened effort to
enforce immigration law.
The mayors in these cities
say they want to reduce fear of
deportation and possible family
break-up among immigrants
who are in the US illegally, so
that such immigrants will be
more willing to report crimes,
use health and social services,
and enroll their children in
school.
Lawrence Payne, a spokesman
for the US Customs and
Border Protection (CBP) agency
said on Friday that CBP will
be aiding ICE “in order to enhance
the integrity of the immigration
system, protect public
safety and strengthen our
national security.”
Payne disclosed that 100
CBP agents will collaborate
with ICE in enhancing immigration
enforcement activities
in New York and Chicago.
He said more CBP agents
will be deployed soon in San
Francisco; Los Angeles; Atlanta;
Houston; Boston; New
Orleans; Detroit; and Newark,
N.J.
Last month, in an open letter
to his colleagues in the New
York City Council, Councilman
Carlos Menchaca, chair of the
Council’s Immigration Committee,
wrote about “a recent
increase in ICE activity in the
New York City region.”
In the last two weeks, he said
New York’s Immigrant Defense
Project (IDP) has received an
uptick in reports of ICE arrests
or attempted arrests in the New
York City region.”
Menchaca, who represents
the 38th Council District in the
Bronx, said he has also received
reports of ICE agents in all fi ve
boroughs of New York City –
the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens,
Brooklyn and Staten Island.
In the seven years of collecting
ICE raids reports,
Menchaca said IDP has verifi ed
over 1,100 raids.
ICE is looking to deport undocumented Carribean’s living in
California. Keith J. Gardner