Houston reverts to sanctuary city status

Houston Chronicle:

The Houston Police Department will not participate in a controversial immigration screening program, federal officials said on Friday, ending a months-long saga over the city's plans.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials had designated this week as the national deadline for agencies to sign recently revamped agreements in order to participate in the federal government's 287(g) program, which deputizes local law enforcement to act as immigration agents.

On Friday, ICE officials released a list of the 55 agencies that had signed formal agreements with ICE. A dozen agencies, including the Harris County Sheriff's Office, had reached agreements with ICE, but still were awaiting approval from their governing bodies to sign off on the partnerships.

HPD was on a short list of a half-dozen agencies that either withdrew from negotiations or did not re-sign agreements with ICE, according to ICE officials. Carl Rusnok, an ICE spokesman, said on Friday that HPD had voluntarily withdrawn from 287(g), “as the program did not correlate with their specific law enforcement needs.”

Frank Michel, spokesman for Mayor Bill White, said he was unaware that ICE's announcement was coming Friday. He said the city had not officially “withdrawn” from negotiations and never heard back from ICE on the city's proposed changes to the standard agreement.

But the mayor has distanced himself publicly from 287(g) recently, saying negotiations with ICE had stalled and the program was not tailored to suit Houston's needs.

This spring, after a Houston police officer was critically injured in a shooting by an illegal immigrant, White formally requested that Homeland Security officials expedite his request that the city participate in 287(g).

ICE announced in July that HPD was accepted to the program. But the city and ICE became deadlocked over a range of issues related to the program, from how it should be administered to which agency should shoulder the costs. Houston had wanted only serious criminals targeted, city officials said.

White, who is running for the U.S. Senate, earlier this month said ICE officials were “bureaucratic” in the negotiations, and appeared to be shying away from the program. White said he would prefer the city participate in another ICE program, called Secure Communities, which gives local law enforcement access to a massive immigration database to check suspects' immigration history.

...

It sounds to me like the city was the one putting roadblocks in front of the program. They apparently wanted the facade of working with ICE while still allowing some illegal immigrants to skate. In other words they wanted a buffet approach to law enforcement when it came to immigration laws.

Since illegals are not supposed to vote, apparently there is a constituency within the city that does not want the immigration laws enforced and White buckled to them and put the safety of Houston Police officers at risk in the process. I think it will and should be an issue in his pursuit of the Texas senate seat he is running for.

This is a case where the rule of law should be supported. However, Houston and its mayor opted out.

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