Police Officers Find Illegal Immigrants In Warrant Searches.
Hugo Vinicio Hernandez knew that immigration agents could detain him at any time for having disregarded a deportation order in 2001. But the Guatemalan man didn't think he would wind up in the custody of immigration agents as a result of a routine traffic stop.
He was deported after being pulled over by a Takoma Park police officer in January.
It's a fate that a growing number of illegal immigrants are facing as federal officials add hundreds of thousands of names of people with outstanding deportation orders into the FBI-run National Crime Information Center database, which police officers use to search for warrants.
In Montgomery County, about 60 people have been taken into custody by police officers on immigration warrants since last year. Officers elsewhere in the region, including jurisdictions with large immigrant populations such as the District and Fairfax and Prince William counties, said that they also enforce civil immigration warrants.
Although the numbers are relatively low, they are expected to increase regionally and nationally as more records are uploaded, which concerns immigrant advocates and some local police officials
"It's very important for the local police department to develop strong relationships with the community," said Montgomery police Chief J. Thomas Manger, who has made reaching out to recent immigrants a priority. "That trust is being jeopardized."
Supporters of the effort say that enlisting the help of police officers to identify and remove the roughly 600,000 immigrants who are thought to have outstanding deportation orders is long overdue.
But two police associations have lobbied against the inclusion, saying that by acting on the warrants, departments risk alienating recent immigrants, a segment of the community that has historically had an uneasy relationship with law enforcement agencies. That, they say, is likely to hinder cooperation from witnesses and victims of violent crimes who are in the country unlawfully.
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Last update : 15-06-2007 07:54
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