Spare_change
Gold Member
- Jun 27, 2011
- 8,690
- 1,293
- 280
Officials in several U.S. communities labeled “sanctuaries” for illegal immigrants say the feds have it wrong, and they fear losing funding under a new directive from President Trump.
Saratoga, N.Y., is on one widely circulated list, and wants off, said Undersheriff Richard Castle. It didn't make much difference until Trump said he would punish cities that limit or virtually prohibit local law enforcement from working proactively with immigration agents.
“We have no idea how we got on this list,” Castle told Fox News. “We notify [immigration officials] all along the way when we arrest someone, and we contact [immigration officials] to verify their status. We are willing to share all our records with immigration [agents], and if we have a suspected violation we will notify them.”
The list of sanctuary communities that has gotten the most attention since Trump became president was compiled by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), a Washington, D.C.-based organization that favors strict immigration policies.
Jessica Vaughan, a CIS analyst and its point person on sanctuary communities, put the list together, culling information from Homeland Security, as well as other sources such as media accounts and information gleaned directly from interviews of local government administrators.
Vaughan said she has a thorough method for putting a locality on the list.
“I look at whether they have a policy that blocks ICE access to jails,” Vaughan said. “Do they have a policy that blocks officers from communicating with ICE? I may ask them to give me a statement” to corroborate what they assert.
Then she checks the information with ICE, she said.
As Trump gets tough on immigration, some officials fight what they say are erroneous 'sanctuary' designations
Saratoga, N.Y., is on one widely circulated list, and wants off, said Undersheriff Richard Castle. It didn't make much difference until Trump said he would punish cities that limit or virtually prohibit local law enforcement from working proactively with immigration agents.
“We have no idea how we got on this list,” Castle told Fox News. “We notify [immigration officials] all along the way when we arrest someone, and we contact [immigration officials] to verify their status. We are willing to share all our records with immigration [agents], and if we have a suspected violation we will notify them.”
The list of sanctuary communities that has gotten the most attention since Trump became president was compiled by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), a Washington, D.C.-based organization that favors strict immigration policies.
Jessica Vaughan, a CIS analyst and its point person on sanctuary communities, put the list together, culling information from Homeland Security, as well as other sources such as media accounts and information gleaned directly from interviews of local government administrators.
Vaughan said she has a thorough method for putting a locality on the list.
“I look at whether they have a policy that blocks ICE access to jails,” Vaughan said. “Do they have a policy that blocks officers from communicating with ICE? I may ask them to give me a statement” to corroborate what they assert.
Then she checks the information with ICE, she said.
As Trump gets tough on immigration, some officials fight what they say are erroneous 'sanctuary' designations
