Deane clarifies immigration policy

By Cheryl Chumley

Published: June 3, 2008

Black, brown, white or otherwise—no matter the skin tone or ethnic background, if you're arrested in Prince William County, your immigration status will be checked.

That's the enforcement intent of police, as explained by police Chief Charlie T. Deane in a press conference Tuesday, just minutes after he presented a brief immigration policy update to supervisors at the McCoart Administration Center about 2:30 p.m. The nature of both the board presentation and press conference was to clarify how an April 29 immigration policy change initiated by supervisors would play at the police level.

"If someone is arrested, their immigration status will be checked," Deane said.

That basic tenet of the county's immigration policy will go into effect at the latest by July 1, after all police have received the one-to-two hour blocks of training. Prior to that, Deane clarified, immigration status was checked when two distinct criteria were met: a "violation of law and probable cause" to suspect illegal residency, he said.

The April 29 policy change, when combined with the upcoming police enforcement—which comes by way of General Orders 45-01 and 45-02—will allow officers the easiest means of implementing law with the lowest threat level of lawsuit, said Chairman Corey Stewart, R-at large, who held his own press conference just prior to the board meeting, at 1:30 p.m.

"This change does lower the possibility for racial profiling and lessens the possibility of unjust legal charges," he said.

A police press release explains other nuances of the enforcement plan: "The basic difference in [this] policy will be the required state at which police officers will inquire into the immigration status of individuals," the release reads, in reference to the April 29 board directive for police to check residency at the "post-arrest" stage.

"However," the release continues, "police officers will retain the discretion to make inquiries prior to arrest consistent with the law and sound policing practices." Further, the Criminal Alien Unit's six trained detectives will continue their mission of "focus[ing] on serious criminal activity that involves illegal aliens," Deane said to board members.

The gist is this: While police will check the immigrant status of all taken into physical custody, they will also retain the authority to check residency status when reasonable suspicion compels.

Deane, in his press conference, said the differences between reasonable suspicion and probable cause were topics best handled by lawyers and the court system. He did offer one scenario of how that standard might work on the street, however.

"If an officer stopped someone … for a traffic violation, and the officer has reason to believe the individual has given a false name," Deane said, "the officer has the authority to, and would be likely to do, an immigration inquiry."

As for the clearer-cut provision of checking immigration status of all those taken into physical custody—Vice Chairman John Stirrup, R-Gainesville, asked Deane for a layman's definition to help the public better understand the significance of the term and why physical custodial arrest does not necessarily lead to incarceration.

"Half the people we physically arrest are released at the magistrate level," often on bond, Deane said. "Physical arrest … [is] we put cuffs on them and take them to the magistrate."

Where they go from there is the magistrate's decision, Deane explained.

The loophole the April 29 amendment closes is this: If checks are only performed at the jail, as prior policy required, then untold numbers of illegal immigrants could have sidestepped law when the magistrate set them free on bail.

In brief, numbers presented during Deane's conference indicated that between March 3 and May 30, a total of 265 individuals were contacted by police on suspicion of illegal alien status. Of that, 138 were placed in physical custodial arrest; 59 were released on summons; 66 were identified and set free without charge; and two were identified and confirmed legal residents.

Staff writer Cheryl Chumley can be reached at 703-670-1907.