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ICE Sensitive Locations
The story of a young girl facing possible deportation after being apprehended by border patrol agents while she was on her way to a hospital to undergo surgery has raised questions about the so-called sensitive locations where immigration-based arrests are not generally conducted.
Sensitive locations refer to areas that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has restricted immigration enforcement actions except in three situations:
- If there are exigent circumstances;
- The immigration officials are led to the sensitive location through other law enforcement investigations; or,
- The immigration officials have prior approval to conduct the enforcement actions from a designated supervisory official.
In some cases, arrests and other enforcement actions can take place in a sensitive location as long as there is a prior agreement between the undocumented immigrant and immigration enforcement agents. For example, when an undocumented immigrant surrenders to immigration agents at a hospital or church.
Sensitive locations include hospitals, schools, daycare centers, rallies or demonstrations, and places of religious worship. Courthouses are not considered sensitive locations. The designation of these areas as sensitive areas is supposed to encourage people to seek the services offered at these locations without fear of deportation. It is also important to note that sensitive locations that are located near a border are treated differently. Sensitive locations near borders are afforded less protection that those away from borders, although immigration officers are supposed to use common sense in taking action in these areas so as to act within the spirit of the policy.
The young girl mentioned above was detained after being stopped at an immigration check point on her way to the hospital as opposed to being detained at the hospital. Therefore, and immigration officials argue that this distinguishes her from someone who would be arrested at a hospital after going there to seek treatment. While this seems like a hollow distinction, because the policy of not making arrests in sensitive locations is a government agency policy and not a law, there are few ways to challenge its application unless the agency failed to follow its own policies.
Because of deportation priorities, immigration agents do have some discretion when it comes to whom to detain and place in immigration proceedings, and this determination can be made on a case by case basis. In the past, undocumented immigrants who were convicted of crimes were priority targets for deportation. The priorities are less clear now.
Undocumented immigrants who need to go to sensitive locations for services should not rely on the designations of these spaces as sensitive spaces. Being improperly apprehended at a sensitive location is not a defense that will necessarily stop an undocumented immigrant from being deported.
Contact Our Team for a Consultation
If your family member has been detained pending deportation proceedings, you need an experienced immigration attorney to present your best case before the immigration judge. For legal assistance with seeking a change in your immigration status, contact our multi-lingual staff to speak to experienced immigration attorney Nathan Wei from Strassburg, Gilmore & Wei, LLP, in Pasadena, California for a consultation.
Can Local Police Arrest Me for Being Undocumented?
Undocumented immigrants are often said to be breaking the law simply by being in the country. Therefore, some people wonder whether local police in their neighborhood have the authority to arrest and detain someone based solely on the person’s status as an undocumented immigrant. This is a question that is likely to come up more often now that the issue of sanctuary cities is in the spotlight across the country.
Immigration law is a federal matter, which means that state police and local city police officers do not necessarily go out of their way to enforce federal immigration law. Generally, only federal law enforcement officers can take someone into custody for violation of immigration laws. There are some situations under which a non-federal police officer can take a person into custody for suspicion of an immigration law. Federal law enforcement officers can also work with local police to take an undocumented immigrant into custody.
If local police officers were to enforce immigration laws, there is also a problem with how local police would determine which people were illegally in the country and which ones had the valid paperwork to be here. Police officers need reasonable suspicion to stop someone to investigate a crime, and need probable cause or a warrant to make an arrest. These restrictions should make it more difficult for police to target people for harassment or arrest simply because they look “foreign.”
All this does not mean that some police officers do not make up reasons to stop people based on racial profiling, and then look for a reason to arrest a person who may be in the country illegally. Police officers do have the right to stop a person briefly and inquire about their identification.
Once arrested on a criminal charge, for example, driving without a license or driving under the influence of alcohol, an undocumented immigrant can be picked up by federal law enforcement officials. A civil warrant for an undocumented immigrant based on a removal order is not in itself grounds for local police officers to arrest the undocumented immigrant, especially if there is no evidence of an independent criminal act.
Once an undocumented immigrant is arrested and jailed for a criminal offense, he or she is processed in the police system as part of the arrest. Once in the system, federal immigration officials can send a detainer request to the local police department asking that the immigrant be held for federal law enforcement officials to pick him or her up. This is the current issue with sanctuary cities: In those cities, officials have decided that police officers are not required to honor federal detainer requests.
Contact Us for More Information
If your relative or loved one was picked up by immigration enforcement officers after being arrested on a local charge, he or she may be facing deportation soon. A criminal conviction may affect the way the person is able to contest the deportation. For more information on how an experienced immigration attorney can help, contact our multi-lingual staff to speak to an experienced immigration attorney from Strassburg, Gilmore & Wei, LLP today.
ICE Agents Making Arrests in California Courtrooms
Following reports that United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are now going to courthouses to arrest undocumented immigrants, attorneys, and prosecutors are worried about the chilling impact this could have on people’s willingness to report crimes or come forward to testify in a judicial proceeding. The issue has attracted the attention of the chief justice of the California Supreme Court, who has written a letter to federal officials asking them to reconsider the tactic in light of the risks.
Whether or not a person is in the country illegally, he or she can file for protective orders to keep abusers away, appear as a witness in various criminal proceedings, be a complainant in criminal cases, and even be a plaintiff in lawsuits. The ability to access the judicial system in this way can be a life saver for a group of people who may otherwise be victimized or taken advantage of with no recourse. This is why this ICE tactic is seen as being so dangerous to communities.
This is not the first time ICE has engaged in this kind of policing and arresting tactic, but in the past, it was used mainly as a last recourse in cases where no home or work address could be found on a certain person, or where the risk of making the arrest elsewhere was high for the ICE agents. However, now it seems that it may be applicable in more situations.
Immigrants Assisting in Criminal Prosecutions
This tactic has support from some people because there is an assumption that at least some of the immigrants arrested in courthouses are there as criminal defendants. While this is true, there is also the risk of deporting those who are helping prosecute criminals regardless of their immigration status. The federal government has long recognized the role that can be played by immigrants in assisting law enforcement agents solve crimes and prosecute high level criminals, for example through the use of the U-Visa program.
Generally, non-U.S. citizens who are victims of certain crimes, who have suffered mental or physical abuse, and who are willing to help law enforcement officials in the investigation and prosecution of criminal activity are eligible for a nonimmigrant visa known as a U-Visa. This visa was introduced as a way to protect crime victims and ensure that crimes from domestic violence to human trafficking could be effectively investigated with the help of victims who are not U.S. citizens. While U-Visas are generally only applicable to immigrants who are admissible into the U.S., those who are inadmissible may apply for a waiver in order to meet the requirement.
Be Prepared
It is difficult to know what areas may be targeted by ICE agents for raids to arrest undocumented immigrants for deportation proceedings. It is important to remember that you still have rights when it comes to immigration agents coming into your home to make an arrest, and a warrant is generally required.
If you are arrested at a protest rally, courthouse, church, or any other unexpected location, it is important to have a contingency plan in place if you have young children, remain calm at all times, do not resist arrest, and always carry a number for an immigration attorney just in case.
Contact Us for Legal Help
For legal assistance with your immigration issues, contact our multi-lingual staff to speak to experienced immigration attorney Nathan Wei from Strassburg, Gilmore & Wei, LLP, in Pasadena, California for a consultation.
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