Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/400396
ByAmyTaxin TheAssociatedPress SANTA ANA Immigra- tion officials say local au- thorities across the U.S. re- leased thousands of immi- grants from jails this year despite efforts to take them into federal custody, includ- ing more than 3,000 with previous felony charges or convictions. The numbers are the first time federal immigration authorities have publicly de- tailed how many times lo- cal agencies have refused to comply with their requests. They highlight the friction between the federal govern- ment and police and sher- iff's departments, some of which say holding immi- grants beyond their release dates harms community po- licing efforts. Immigration officials say the denials pose a public safety threat as immigrants who previously would have been placed in federal cus- tody once they were eligi- ble to leave jail are being released into communities where they could commit new crimes. In the first eight months of this year, immigration agents filed roughly 105,000 requests for local agencies to hold immigrants for up to 48 hours after they were eligible for release on the allegations for which they initially were arrested, said Virginia Kice, a spokes- woman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The agents wanted the im- migrants held so they could take them into federal cus- tody and start deportation proceedings. Local law enforcement agencies declined 8,800 such requests, also known as detainers, during the same period. Those re- leased include people ar- rested for investigation of domestic violence and drug charges, as well as others detained on lesser offenses but who had past convic- tions for crimes such as as- sault with a deadly weapon, Kice said. Across the country, many local agencies no longer are willing to hold jailed immi- grants beyond their sched- uled release dates. They say immigrants should not be held longer than U.S cit- izens for the same crime, and turning them over to ICE creates an atmosphere of distrust among commu- nity members. Colorado stopped hon- oring detainers earlier this year, and New York City is considering doing the same. In California, local law enforcement agencies scaled back their collabo- ration with ICE to comply with a state law that took effect this year limiting the use of immigration detain- ers. After a federal court in nearby Oregon ruled a woman's constitutional rights were violated when she was held in jail without probable cause, some agen- cies stopped honoring the requests altogether. Five Southern California counties no longer honor ICE's requests, said David Marin, deputy field office director for the agency's en- forcement and removal op- erations in the greater Los Angeles area. He said he's shifted at least 40 agents from screening and trans- porting arrestees to teams working in the field to track down immigrants they be- lieve are in the country il- legally. It takes more manpower to do so and puts his staff at greater risk, Marin said. And he believes some of the immigrants who are be- ing released will commit new crimes, adding that his agency has filed multiple detainers this year for some immigrants, which indicates they have been re-arrested. "There's a lot of crimes we could probably prevent if people would just honor our detainers," Marin said. He noted that because of a prison overhaul, local jails in California now house more lower-level felons who previously would have gone to state prison. In Illinois, a man who was released from jail de- spite a 2011 request by im- migration authorities to de- tain him shot and killed his 15-year-old girlfriend ear- lier this year, Kice said. Some California sher- iff's officials, however, say they're simply following the latest law governing the conditions under which anyone, an immigrant or otherwise, can be held by law enforcement. In Riverside County, Chief Deputy Jerry Gutier- rez said the Oregon ruling coupled with an ICE memo indicating the detainers were requests, not require- ments, prompted his agency to stop honoring them. "If we were to honor them, it would expose the county and the depart- ment to civil liability," he said. "Any person who is ordered to be released, we would be releasing them the same way." The change is welcomed by immigrant advocates, who have long fought the requests from immigration authorities to continue de- taining people after they're eligible for release from jail, whether on bail or at the conclusion of a crimi- nal case. JUSTICE ENFORCEMENT Thousandsreleaseda erimmigrationholdsdenied U.S.BUREAUOFIMMIGRATIONANDCUSTOMSENFORCEMENT—THE ASSOCIATED PRESS US Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents take a person into custody during an immigration sweep in Ontario on Tuesday. By Juliet Williams The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Gov. Jerry Brown said Friday that he will push next year to set even higher greenhouse gas emission targets for Cali- fornia, where the nation's toughest carbon standards already are causing anxiety among businesses and con- sumers. "We want to set in the coming year a goal for 2030 which is far more stringent, and it'll be far more diffi- cult," Brown said in a tele- phone interview with The Associated Press. California's current car- bon emissions law, signed in 2006, sets goals through 2020. If Brown wins re-elec- tion in November, the Dem- ocratic governor said he would bring together envi- ronmentalists, oil companies and transportation compa- nies to accomplish the "chal- lenge and opportunity." "California has the most integrated response and strategy to deal with cli- mate change of any political jurisdiction in the world. And we're going to continue doing that," Brown said. The current target in- cludes a so-called carbon tax on consumer fuels start- ing Jan. 1, which the non- partisan Legislative Ana- lyst's Office estimates could boost the cost of gasoline by 13 to 20 cents a gallon by 2020. It's projected that the increase could eventu- ally reach 50 cents a gallon. Jay McKeeman, vice president of the California Independent Oil Marketers Association, said it is pre- mature to consider expand- ing a law that is just taking effect. His group estimates fuel prices will rise by 9 to 12 cents a gallon starting in the new year. "I find it difficult to ac- cept that we're going to tighten the screws with- out even really fully under- standing what people are going to be saddled with," he said. In the interview, the 76-year-old governor de- scribed some of his other goals for the next four years if he is re-elected to an un- precedented fourth term. They include: • Bringing "warring fac- tions together" on issues of school and teacher perfor- mance, which Brown said he is uniquely positioned to do because of his good relationships with teachers unions, school reformers and charter schools. • Consolidating more than 5,000 complex crim- inal justice laws that have led to longer prison sen- tences and crowded pris- ons by working with groups to "come up with a more thoughtful and more bal- anced program of social control." ELECTIONS Brown wants higher carbon standards By Fenit Nirappil The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Anger stemming from a 30-year- old religious clash in India that left thousands dead has crept into one of the closest and most expen- sive congressional races in the country. Some Sikh political ac- tivists and the California Republican Party are cam- paigning against Dem- ocratic Rep. Ami Bera, saying he refuses to ac- knowledge the alleged in- volvement of the Indian government in the anti- Sikh rioting in 1984. Bera, a physician repre- senting a suburban Sacra- mento district, is the only Indian-American in Con- gress. Other Sikh leaders are planning a fundraiser for Bera this weekend, dis- missing the opposition as a fringe group that doesn't represent their religious community. They praise Bera, a freshman law- maker and Unitarian who was raised Hindu by In- dian immigrant parents, as a valuable advocate for all South Asians. Sikhism is a monothe- istic religion with roots in modern-day Punjab that emphasizes equality and good works. Male followers often wear turbans. In Cal- ifornia, Sikhs have a long history as farmers in the Central Valley. Bera's 7th Congressio- nal District, which is about evenly divided between Democrats and Republi- cans, has about 6,000 reg- istered voters of Indian de- scent, according to Political Data Inc., a California firm thatprovides detailed break- downs of voting districts. The race between Bera and Republican Doug Ose, a former congressman, has attracted more than $4 million from outside inter- est groups. The margin of victory in November is ex- pected to be razor thin, so even a small-scale revolt from within a single eth- nic community could help tilt the election. Such attempts to gain votes by taking sides in emotional historical de- bates are unusual and can carry unforeseen pitfalls for the side that tries to ap- pease one group while an- gering another. The election debate over the Sikh massacre recalls a long-running disagreement over the slaying of some 1.5 million Armenians by Otto- man Turks around the time of World War I, which Ar- menians insist constituted genocide and Turks reject. In the Bera-Ose race, a group of activists calling itself American Sikhs for Truth plans to send 1,500 anti-Bera mailers in Eng- lish and Punjabi to Sikh households and to deploy volunteers on the streets in the coming days. California Republican Party Vice Chairwoman Harmeet Dhillon, a Sikh, was among Ose volunteers knocking on the doors of Sikh households last week- end in the district. The massacre of Sikhs marks one of the darkest periods of sectarian vio- lence in recent Indian his- tory. After violently sup- pressing a Sikh insurgency and an army attack on the holiest Sikh site, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984. Her killing prompted anti-Sikh rioting across northern states that left more than 3,000 people dead, some hacked to death and others burned alive. Government officials have been accused of inciting then ignoring the violence. POLITICS Sikh massacre in India issue in congressional race STEVE YEATER — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Republican candidate for Congress Doug Ose, le , shakes hands with Harmeet Dhillon, and fellow Sikh volunteer precinct walkers Ravi Kahlon, and Guri Kang, right, in Sacramento on Saturday. Regular Haircut $ 2 00 off KWIK KUTS FamilyHairSalon 1064SouthMainSt.,RedBluff•529-3540 ANY RETAIL PRODUCT 20 % off withanychemicalserviceof $50 or more Notgoodwithotheroffers Expires 11/30/14 With coupon Reg. $13.95 CattleWomen's Luncheon & Fashion Show Roaring 20's TicketreservationdeadlineisOct.31st 529-9679 Sat.Nov.8,2014 Rolling Hills Casino Tickets $ 28 00 | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2014 6 A