FRESNO-
July 9, 2015
Come join us tomorrow at 7:00 am, for; ICE out of Fresno Banner holding, Tulare ave over FWY 41, next to Office Depot.
CONTACT:
Luis Ojeda, California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance
(559) 223-1192 / lojeda@ciyja.org
Grassroots Organizations Denounce Fresno County Sheriff Department’s Troubling New ICE Deportation Program and Launch ICE out of Fresno Campaign
FRESNO – Earlier today Fresno County Sheriff’s Department announced that they had launched a “Unique Program at Fresno County Jail” that began on June 22, 2015. This program will provide two ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers access to inmate records and interview rooms at the jail.
Fresno Immigrant Youth in Action and California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance demand an immediate halt to this new pilot program. This is a huge step in the wrong direction and is yet another example of how out of step the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department is with the rest of the country. While a growing number of jurisdictions move toward reducing collaboration with ICE, this new program does just the opposite.
“We call on Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims to put an end to all collaboration with ICE,” says Oday Guerrero, Fresno Immigrant Youth in Action organizer. “This program is neither ‘unique’ nor ‘progressive’ but will instead further erode trust between local law enforcement and immigrant communities and reduce the department’s credibility. Sheriff Mims should not be in the business of deportation.”
These latest efforts represent an attempt at getting around last year’s Miranda-Olivares v. Clackamas County case which found ICE detainers to be completely voluntary and that detention based on these holds were unconstitutional. It also goes against the spirit of the TRUST Act, a state law which seeks to reduce deportations in California. Fresno County should be looking at ways to end their relationship with ICE instead of further entangling local law enforcement with a federal agency that cannot be trusted. The Fresno County Sheriff’s Department gets it wrong once again.
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