New York State Sheriffs Shying Away From Immigration Detention
Source: NYT
The New York State Sheriffs Association has recommended that its members refuse requests by federal immigration authorities to hold foreign-born detainees for additional time so that they can be investigated for immigration-related offenses.
At least nine sheriffs in the state have vowed to follow the associations guidance, joining a growing wave of law enforcement agencies around the nation that have made similar policy changes, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union, which has been pressing the jurisdictions in the state to make the changes.
The shift follows a series of federal court rulings this year that raised questions about the constitutionality of the holds, which are known as detainers and are a key part of the federal immigration-enforcement machinery. Immigration authorities have for years issued detainers to local and state law enforcement agencies, asking them to hold immigrant detainees for up to 48 hours after they were scheduled for release from jail.
Many of those detainees are then transferred into federal custody and end up in deportation proceedings.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/31/nyregion/new-york-state-sheriffs-shying-away-from-immigration-detention-.html