Acting U.S. General Attorney Emil Bove called for an investigation into a New York state sheriff who released an undocumented man from custody, report Christopher Maag and Eileen Sullivan of The New York Times.
Bove sent a department wide memo last week directing federal prosecutors to probe local and state officials who are "obstructing federal functions" in relation to immigration enforcement, report Sarah N. Lynch and Andrew Goudsward of Reuters.
Referring to their general work, the Ithaca city's police department said they adhered to "all relevant city policies" and "did not participate in any immigration enforcement activities," Lynch and Goudsward note.
Collaboration between local law enforcement and immigration authorities could change in some states. A recent memo from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is invoking a 1996 law that allows state and local police immigration enforcement powers, reports Fola Akinnibi of Bloomberg.
The memo is being seen as a "call to action" for some jurisdictions who are interested in supporting President Trump’s immigration agenda, Akinnibi highlights.
Emma Winger, deputy legal director at the American Immigration Council says the DHS should expect legal challenges and calls the directive "a pretty remarkable assertion of authority."
Winger also raises concerns around the lack of training some state or local officers have around immigration law. "It sets up the possibility of mistakes — wrongfully arresting people who are authorized to be here — and raises the prospect of racial profiling."
Welcome to Friday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Clara Villatoro, the Forum’s assistant vice president of strategic communications, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Jillian Clark, Soledad Gassó Parker, Dan Gordon, Broc Murphy and Becka Wall. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].
STATE LEGISLATION — In Tennessee, a new state bill would create an immigration enforcement division that would be exempt from public records, reports Sam Stockard of Tennessee Lookout. The state Senate passed the bill Wednesday, and the Tennessee House is expected to do the same. "I don’t think any agency or governmental entity ought to be exempt from the open records (act) unless it specifies exactly what it is, not just open-ended," said Sen. Todd Gardenhire the sole Republican to vote against the bill.
IMPACT — The Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration is expected to have major effects on the agricultural industry, reports Reena Diamante of Spectrum News. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 42% of the United States' hired crop farm workers are undocumented. Separately, Scott Lincicome examines how the new administration’s policies will affect native-born workers in his piece for The Dispatch.
UNUSUAL — After a domestic disturbance, a Nicaraguan teenager was sentenced to counseling for first-time offenders. Before she was able to begin this process, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained the eleventh-grader, reports Deborah Becker of WBUR. "It's shocking to me, it's unusual that federal immigration resources would be expended for a case like this," said immigration attorney Randy Feldman. The girl and her family are in asylum process after leaving their home in Nicaragua two years ago.
TRAPPED - Trump’s executive order to halt refugee admissions has left over 200 family members of U.S. troops in Afghanistan alongside thousands who are trying to flee the Taliban, reports Riley Cedar of the Military Times. "When the U.S. fails to protect those who risked their lives for our missions, it sends a message that loyalty is not reciprocated," says Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac. Julie Luchetta of Boise State Public Radio writes about an Idaho refugee whose reunion with his family was cancelled due to this order.
This week in local welcome:
