MiamiHerald.com
Miami Police Chief John Timoney, an Irish immigrant himself, told South Florida immigrant-rights advocates Friday night that his officers are under orders not to ask foreign nationals about their immigration status.
The exception, he said during a meeting with activists at Miami City Hall, would be if the immigrant is arrested because of a crime. Then, he said, officers are required to notify the immigration authorities.
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While many immigration advocates welcome police pledges not to ask immigrants about status, some want officers to go further.
Officers, they say, should not call immigration if a federal crime database lists an immigrant stopped in traffic as wanted for evading a deportation order for being in the country illegally. Their reasoning is that illegal presence is a civil, not criminal, violation.
Cheryl Little, executive director of Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, one of the sponsors of Friday's meeting, told The Miami Herald earlier that advocates want federal authorities to delete from the database entries listing deportation order absconders.
''These people are branded as fugitives, but they have not committed a crime,'' she said.
The issue arose briefly toward the end of the meeting, when one advocate asked why officers call immigration if the database shows the person is wanted by immigration.
''If you have an instance like that, send me a letter and I'll get back to you,'' Timoney replied.
Posted by Richard at November 4, 2006