Grapevine (WBAP/KLIF News) – Eighteen sheriffs have signed an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to let local deputies perform some of the duties currently done by federal agents. The acting director of ICE, Thomas Homan, made the announcement Monday in Grapevine.
“This is demonstrating a clear commitment, strengthening public safety and upholding their promise to serve and protect,” Homan said.
Deputies will undergo training on how to identify people currently in jail who came to the country illegally. Homan says that training will make it easier to identify aliens for deportation when their criminal process is completed.
“These criminal aliens victimize the very communities they live in,” he says. “What drives the fear in immigrant communities is mis-messaging about ICE conducting raids and sweeps. We do no such thing.”
Sheriffs say the ban on “sanctuary cities” will not place too much burden on law enforcement. Jackson County Sheriff AJ Louderback says a 2012 Supreme Court decision on a case out of Arizona shows the law is constitutional.
“We’ve had, for many years, the ability to ask [about immigration status],” he says. “SB 4 didn’t give us that.”
Sheriffs expect deputies to go through training over the next three months.
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