This memo was dispatched by CHIRLA
Subj: LA SHERIFF BACA, WANTS SUPERVISORS TO SIGN - "MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING" with I.C.E.!"
Date: 1/11/05 10:33:40 AM Pacific Standard Time
From: Wake Up America Foundation
THIS IS URGENT, [READ IT] GET IT OUT TO YOUR NETWORK! LA COUNTY SHERIFF "BACA' NEEDS OUR HELP
Friends
Please call Supervisors Molina, Yarovslavsky and Burke and urge them not to approve the proposed MOU between the LA Sheriff's Department and immigration agents from ICE. We don't need local police acting as immigration agents.
Call and urge them to vote NO:
213 974-4111 for Supervisor Molina's office in District 1,
213 974-2222 for Supervisor Burkes' office in District 2, or
213 974-3333 for Supervisor Yarovslavsky's office in District 3
On Tuesday (1/11/05) the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will be considering Sheriff Baca's proposal to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agenes in order to have Sheriffs' Dept. Custody Assistants interview new arrivals at the jail inmate processing center, and write them up for detainers and notices to appear. Currently ICE officers interview them at the end of the process, after they have been convicted, just before they are released. Many more people - including many who will not be convicted -- could be interviewed and placed in proceedings under this process.
Sheriff Baca initially promoted this proposal as a way to get more federal reimbursement to the county for detaining undocumented persons through the SCAP program - but he now concedes that SCAP money is decreasing and there is no guarantee this process will bring any additional money. He claims that having 6 custody assistants perform this work entails no cost to the county because they already ask new arrivals a series of questions, and will simply need to ask some more questions and fill out some more paperwork.
Immigrants' rights groups and others are opposing the proposal on numerous grounds, including that
(1) it will increase distrust of the Sheriff's Dept. in immigrant communities and deter crime victims from coming forward to report crimes, thereby weakening law enforcement;
(2) in reality it will incur increased costs, because immigration processing is much more time consuming; and
(3) it will expose the county to liability, both for errors committed in immigration processing by poorly qualified custody assistants, even w/ ICE supervision, and for the county's responsibility in taking time away from existing jail personnel for additional duties at a time the county is experiencing a crisis due to overcrowding and lack of personnel at the jail. Currently of the 5 supervisors only Gloria Molina has come out in opposition to the proposal. It would very helpful to have people at the meeting to show
opposition to this proposal. The meeting is at the Board of Supervisors
Temple and Grand) on Tue. Jan. 11 - they start the meeting at 9:30,
