ICE refuses to cross-deputize Davis County deputies

Law enforcement » Utah politicians angry that the police agency was turned away.

By Sheena Mcfarland

The Salt Lake Tribune

The Davis County Sheriff's Office was ready to pitch in and help enforce federal immigration law at its county jail, detaining undocumented arrestees and beginning the process to deport them.

No thanks, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau recently said, a response that has incensed Utah politicians.

Last fall, Davis County Sheriff Bud Cox applied for an ICE agreement that would allow and train 10 deputies to process undocumented arrestees. In October 2008, the department was inspected for three days by five ICE inspectors.

After waiting nearly a year, the office received a letter in August denying the sheriff's request.

"We were sort of thinking we'd be approved because Washington and Weber Counties were," Chief Deputy Bob Yeaman said. "They didn't give us a reason for the denial, but we're thinking it's money."

Matt Chandler, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said that was a factor.

"ICE officials determined that Davis County's needs could be met more effectively by other ICE state and local enforcement assistance programs," Chandler said.

Earlier this year, the federal agency came under harsh criticism in a Government Accountability Office report that questioned whether local law enforcement uses such agreements with ICE as they are intended -- to deport only the worst offenders.

The report showed that four of 29 reviewed local agencies were instead deporting people for minor offenses, such as having an open container of alcohol or speeding.

That's a concern for Latino community activist Tony Yapias.

"I would hope that law enforcement agencies look at enforcing local laws, and not try to get in the business of enforcing federal laws," Yapias said. "ICE has enough for their work to get criminals out, as all of us hope."

The Davis County jail had 221 inmates with immigration holds from June 2008 to May 2009, an average of about 18 per month. The office sought the ICE agreement because "we had some concerned citizens who thought we should," Yeaman said

Currently, deputies call ICE when someone can't prove their legal status, and the agency is "pretty good about responding and picking up inmates," Yeaman said.

Occasionally, however, inmates are released before ICE arrives, he said. The office will continue to work to qualify for training to hold undocumented arrestees for longer than the standard 48 hours, Yeaman added.

But Rep. Curt Oda, R-Clearfield, says the ICE rejection "handcuffs the county's hands." He adds the relatively low number of inmates with immigration holds at the county jail shouldn't matter.

"Look at how many criminals they're releasing because there's not room in the jail, and look at how many are jailed, but then ICE says it can't get there in time, so they get let go," Oda said, adding that the denial makes him worry that other agencies also will be rejected.

He's not the only politician who's upset.

Attorney General Mark Shurtleff called the denial "outrageous and absolutely unacceptable." This summer, he drafted a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Justice as part of Utah's new immigration law, SB81. He said the federal government was "absolutely unwilling to negotiate" and would only follow the strictest reading of the law.

"This denial is going to be very upsetting to a lot of Utahns," he said.

Rep Mike Noel, R-Kanab, is one of them. He served on the immigration interim committee last year, and says the denial points to what he calls the Obama administration's refusal to enforce immigration laws.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said he realizes the ICE program is difficult to get into because applicants across the nation compete for limited training dollars, but he's still working to get Davis County officers trained.

"This is an important program and has proven successful in both Washington and Weber counties as law enforcement officials encounter criminal behavior," he said. "I was pleased to bring the ... program to Utah and will do everything I can to help Davis County or others interested in this program."

smcfarland@sltrib.com

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