LOS ANGELES (AP) – More than 1,800 immigrants that the federal government wanted to deport were nevertheless released from local jails and later re-arrested for various crimes, according to a government report released Monday.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement report – obtained by an organization that actively opposes illegal immigration – said the re-arrested immigrants were among 8,145 people who were freed between January and August 2014 despite requests from federal agents that they be held for deportation.
A fatal shooting in San Francisco has heated up a long-running debate between those who want police to help immigration agents to enhance public safety and those who say holding immigrants too long is unconstitutional and erodes community trust.
More than 250 jurisdictions across the country – including some formally designated as sanctuary cities, such as San Francisco – have stopped fully honoring so-called immigration detainers, saying they can’t hold arrestees beyond their scheduled release dates without probable cause. California and Connecticut have passed state laws to limit the use of detainers and jails in states from Oregon to Iowa also refuse to honor the requests.
In the report provided by the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, the top crimes for which immigrants were re-arrested were drug violations and drunken driving. The report also cited six examples related to more serious offenses, including a San Mateo County case in which an individual was arrested for investigation of felony sex crimes involving a child under 14. It was not immediately clear whether the individuals in these cases were re-arrested for crimes committed after they were released from jail or older violations. ICE did not comment on the findings in the report.