Feds to check city jail list

Immigration agency will look for illegals arrested in Denver

Lou Kilzer, Rocky Mountain News

Friday, May 20, 2005

Federal agents will start routinely asking the Denver Sheriff Department for a list of foreign nationals in city jails, the local head of the federal immigration agency said Thursday.

The move was sparked by a Rocky Mountain News report that fewer than 40 of some 270-plus foreign nationals recently in Denver jails have federal immigrations holds, said Jeff Copp, agent in charge of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Denver.

It is unknown how many of those foreign nationals might be in the country illegally.

Denver Safety Manager Al LaCabe said the move represents no change in city policy, which states that Denver will not proactively research the immigration status of inmates. The city will instead depend on federal agents to do so.

The city's list of jailed foreign nationals would have been available to federal agents in the past if they had asked for it, LaCabe said.

"They just have not done it for a while," he said. "They will attempt to do it more often."

He said federal agents are satisfied with Denver's policies.

Copp said agents have not been doing the research because of heavy caseloads. But, he said, they would begin asking for the city's list because "it will make our job a lot easier."

He said agents will determine who on the list might be of interest, and then they will conduct interviews.

"I think it's always been there," Copp said of the city's list of foreign nationals. "But I don't know if it's been available to us."

Denver police procedure says that if a suspect is arrested and is "believed to be an undocumented immigrant" the Sheriff Department will "notify the INS authorities according to their procedures."

LaCabe said Thursday that the word "their" refers to the Sheriff Department and not the INS. He said the sheriff procedure has been not to notify ICE.

A separate sheriff department policy states that a "hold of immigration" tag will be placed on an inmate computer log "only when the United States Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service has issued a detainer or warrant on an immigration matter."

Copp said his agency has little way of knowing which prisoners should have a federal hold if agents do not know who is in local jails and for what reasons.

The new federal procedures will help correct that problem, he said.

It was difficult Thursday to determine what effect increased federal surveillance might have.

Copp, head of a four-state office, said he has few agents and limited federal jail space to house illegal immigrants.

Meanwhile, there was confusion Thursday over exactly what Denver's policy is with regards to jailed illegal immigrants.

Mayor John Hickenlooper said in a radio interview on KOA-AM (850) he was "embarrassed" by a News story that jail administrators do not routinely notify federal officials when illegal immigrants are in custody - in apparent conflict with city policy.

Talk show host Mike Rosen said he understood that jailing an immigrant would create a computer record that would alert ICE to his whereabouts.

"My understanding was your understanding," replied the mayor, who said he had scheduled a meeting with Director of Corrections Fred Oliva over the apparent discrepancy in procedures.

Oliva later showed the mayor's office the sheriff department policy about illegal immigrants.

The mayor's administration was unaware the sheriff policy differed from the police policy.

Congressman Tom Tancredo sparked local debate when he alleged in a press release last week that Denver has a sanctuary policy for illegal immigrants that "prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal officials on immigration matters."

No such written policy has been uncovered.

Nevertheless, Tancredo has insisted that in practice Denver has been lax in enforcing immigration laws.

Arrested immigrants

• More than 270: Number of foreign nationals recently in Denver jails.

• Fewer than 40: Number that are on federal immigration holds.

Denver sheriff policy

This is the policy used by the Denver Sheriff Department for "immigration prisoners."

(Rev. Feb. 24, 1995)

• The charge "Hold for Immigration" will be lodged against a prisoner only when the United States Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) has issued a detainer or warrant on an immigration matter. A TTY or the detainer should accompany the arrest slip.

• When a person is arrested on a felony investigation charge, and the person may be an illegal immigrant, the INS may issue a detainer marked "VALID ONLY UPON CONVICTION" of the felony charge for which the prisoner is being held. This charge will be added to the prisoner's arrest record with the notation "VALID ONLY UPON CONVICTION" entered in the STATUS COMMENT field during the complete booking. If a prisoner is eligible for release, the INS hold will be dropped, and the prisoner will be released.

(Rev. Aug. 22, 2002)

• When a prisoner with an immigration hold has had all remaining charges satisfied, leaving only the immigration hold, the INS Department will be notified immediately by teletype or by fax. All correspondence must clearly indicate that the prisoner is held at the Pre-Arraignment Detention Facility in Denver on their hold only. We shall request acknowledgment of the teletype or fax, including the INS officer's name and approximate pickup time. If the INS will require more than 48 hours for pickup, we will ask that they send a second detainer requesting us to continue holding the prisoner and accept billing for the housing effective the date of the second detainer. If a scheduled pickup does not occur within the 48 hours, a supervisor shall be notified. The supervisor shall see that a second teletype or fax is sent to request a new detainer, and inform them that we will begin billing their agency for the detainment of the prisoner. If an INS prisoner is to be held for a long period of time, and we have the second detainer, the prisoner will be transferred to the Denver County Jail to await pickup. The 2 Control Center Officer will notify the INS of the transfer.

kilzerl@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2644