Ga. Law: Jailers must report incarcerated illegal aliens to feds
Longstanding (2006) state law (OCGA 42-4-14) requires jailers to check the immigration status of incoming foreign prisoners. “If the foreign national is determined to be an illegal alien, the keeper of the jail or other officer shall notify the United States Department of Homeland Security, or other office or agency designated for notification by the federal government.”
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Excerpt: “While Sheriff Owens – a former Cobb County policeman – is certainly free to smear his fellow law enforcement officers with accusations of profiling, he should understand that it’s illegal aliens who are deported and that removal is the punishment for illegal immigration, not traffic violations.”
Note: The below column was originally posted on the subscription news outlet Insider Advantage Georgia website
By D.A. King
In 2011, Aurelio Mayo Perez, an illegal alien, was booked into the Cobb County jail for no driver’s license but released due to an immigration enforcement reduction edict from then-President Barack Obama. Two years later, Mayo Perez was charged with aggravated child molestation and rape. The name of the ten-year old girl he was convicted of repeatedly molesting is not available.
Sheriffs Craig Owens, Cobb County (L) and Keebo Taylor, Gwinnett County (R). Photo WSB TV/Twitter
Last week, newly sworn Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens held an elaborate press conference packed with invited anti-enforcement activists and proudly announced his termination of the 287(g) program. The Marietta Daily Journal described the event’s big finish with “…as the event ended, and a mariachi band began to play, the mood in the room was decidedly celebratory. The new sheriff even took to the floor and waltzed for a moment, reveling in his audience’s approval.” Cobb County Deputy Sheriff Loren Lilly – killed in a 2007 traffic crash by an unlicensed illegal alien driver – was unable to attend.
Democrat Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid pronounced Owens’ decision “bold, necessary, and overdue.” Cobb’s new District Attorney, Flynn Broady weighed in with “this is going to make our community safer.” We recommend reading the entire MDJ report
Created by congress in 1996, and signed into law by Bill Clinton, the voluntary 287(g) program is a tool used to expand the authority of local law enforcement to locate and report to ICE illegal aliens, usually in county jails. It’s a deterrent. Then-Senator Joe Biden voted in favor of passage.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports Owens claims “the program morphed into one that profiled immigrants through traffic stops, which resulted in them being deported on misdemeanor charges.” While Sheriff Owens – a former Cobb County policeman – is certainly free to smear his fellow law enforcement officers with accusations of profiling, he should understand that it’s illegal aliens who are deported and that removal is the punishment for illegal immigration, not traffic violations.
Jose Alfaro-Contraras, an illegal alien from El Salvador, was one of the gunmen in an April, 2015 armed robbery of the owner of a check-cashing store in Duluth. A year earlier, Alfaro-Contraras had been in the Gwinnett County jail on a shoplifting charge. He was released because “minor crime.”
The above examples are taken from a 2017 report “Jail records reveal immigrants not deported after minor crimes later commit worse ones” from Atlanta’s Fox Five TV News investigative reporter Randy Travis.
In Gwinnett, on his first day in office, Sheriff Keybo Taylor made his enforcement policy clear when he quit the 287(g) program: “What we will not be doing is notifying ICE of anybody’s immigration status in the jail or any of our facilities…” said Taylor at his own presser. He told a local NPR interviewer 287(g) is slanted towards “people of color.”
“So basically, what that program started to do was target, uh, you know, people of color that were in this country that’s undocumented, so, you know, it became, you know, a racist issue for me…”,
He says he would rather focus on gang members. I was curious, so I checked with experts on gangs in Gwinnett and the skin color concern Taylor expressed. But on that topic Sheriff Taylor does have concerns about borders “…crime and criminals…they don’t, they do not respect borders, so, you know, it’s nothing to come from Atlanta to Gwinnett County…” says Taylor. Indeed.
In print and radio interviews, both sheriffs have done a remarkable job of learning and adhering to the anti-287(g) talking points distributed by the far-left. Below are some of those tips from a 2008 ACLU ‘toolkit.’
‘How to oppose 287(g) agreements in your state or locality’
- Always describe how police enforcement of immigration laws endangers public safety for everyone.
- Assert that local police of immigration laws will result in widespread racial profiling.
- Assert that immigration enforcement is the responsibility of the federal government.
- Assert that police resources are stretched thin already.
Is long-standing Ga. law being enforced?
Attention Georgia prosecutors, including Flynn Broady: Independent of 287(g), longstanding (2006) state law (OCGA 42-4-14) requires jailers to check the immigration status of incoming foreign prisoners. “If the foreign national is determined to be an illegal alien, the keeper of the jail or other officer shall notify the United States Department of Homeland Security, or other office or agency designated for notification by the federal government.”
D.A. King is president of the Georgia-based Dustin Inman Society.
Illegal alien captured in Gwinnett County, GA, detected by 287(g): Aggravated child molestation by sodomy, from ICE report
From an ICE report on 287 (g) results:
Georgia – On Oct. 16, the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office 287(g) Program encountered a citizen of El Salvador charged with aggravated child molestation by sodomy, obscene contact with a child, use of computer service to seduce, solicit, lure or entice a child to commit an illegal act, and placed an immigration detainer and warrant on the subject. The subject entered the United States on an unknown date and location without inspection.
ICE publishes monthly report on enforcement actions due to cooperative agreements
Note: The incoming sheriffs in Gwinnett and cobb counties have promised the illegal alien lobby they will end the 287(g) agreements with ICE when they take office in January, 2021. We will try to track the consequences. We do not expect the same from the Associated Press or the liberal AJC.
WASHINGTON – A Honduran national charged with three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and a Guatemalan national charged with carjacking, aggravated assault and battery are examples of the most egregious cases of detainers placed in October by local law enforcement officials with delegated 287(g) authority from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as detailed in the latest monthly report. The 287(g) program, authorized by Congress, allows local law enforcement agencies to participate as an active partner in identifying criminal aliens in their custody, and placing ICE detainers on these individuals.
ICE’s 287(g) reports detail examples of enforcement actions made as a direct result of the cooperation agreements between state and local law enforcement partners and the federal agency.
The October report highlights action taken in cases involving significant threats to public safety:
Georgia – On Oct. 16, the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office 287(g) Program encountered a citizen of El Salvador charged with aggravated child molestation by sodomy, obscene contact with a child, use of computer service to seduce, solicit, lure or entice a child to commit an illegal act, and placed an immigration detainer and warrant on the subject. The subject entered the United States on an unknown date and location without inspection.
Maryland – On Oct. 15, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office 287(g) Program encountered a citizen of Turkey sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for the conviction of rape 2nd degree and assault 2nd degree, and placed an immigration detainer and warrant on the subject. The subject entered the United States as a crewman and adjusted status to that of a lawful permanent resident.
Under the 287(g) program, ICE has 77 jail enforcement model agreements in 21 states and 74 warrant service officer model agreements in 11 states.
ICE does not require law enforcement agencies to participate in 287(g). In fact, law enforcement agencies must request to participate in the 287(g) program and enter into a memorandum of agreement that defines the scope, duration and limitations of the delegation of authority. It also sets forth the training requirements, the terms of ICE supervision, and requires the partnering law enforcement agency to follow U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE policies when its designated immigration officers perform delegated immigration enforcement functions.
The 287(g) program allows ICE to have a presence at local jails across the country. Through training and with oversight, local officers can screen those booked into local custody on criminal charges and process the immigration case for ICE supervisory review.
The goal of 287(g) is to enhance public safety by identifying aliens, lodging immigration detainers, and initiating removal proceedings by issuing charging documents on criminal and removable aliens booked into the jail facility.
Law enforcement agencies interested in becoming a partner under the 287(g) program are encouraged to email ERO287g@ice.dhs.gov for more information on how to apply. Here.
Already convicted of sex offense in Rome, GA., illegal alien captured after reentering U.S. in Arizona
BP Arrests Guatemalan Sex Offender in Southern Arizona
Release Date: October 28, 2020
TUCSON, Ariz. – U.S. Border Patrol agents in southern Arizona arrested a sex offender near the village of San Miguel on the Tohono O’odham Nation late Tuesday afternoon.
Border Protection
Agents patrolling near the international boundary tracked and arrested 29-year-old Honorio Perez after he made illegal entry into the United States through the desert.
Records checks revealed the Guatemalan national was convicted of sexual offenses against a child in Floyd County, Georgia, in 2012. After completing his subsequent prison sentence, Perez was removed from the country in 2017.
Perez will now face felony immigration prosecution, as he is a previously removed felon with a lifetime ban from the United States.
All people apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol undergo criminal history checks using biometrics to ensure illegal aliens with criminal histories are positively identified.
For more details regarding this news release, contact the Tucson Sector Public Affairs Office at tca-pao@cbp.dhs.gov or by phone at 520-748-3210. Tucson Sector is also LiveU capable. Contact us to schedule an interview.
Last modified:
October 28, 2020
Here from CBP (that is Customs and Border Protection).
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