PACIFIC COUNTY The federal program Secure Communities, a subtle but potentially far-ranging change in immigration policy, has been implemented in Pacific County. As noted by Pacific County Sheriff Scott Johnson, I got an e-mail from ICE [Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement] notifying me that the Secure Communities implementation for Pacific County would occur on July 19. Three counties, ours included, will go on-line at that time.

    Benton and Grays Harbor join Pacific County in opting into the program this week. Yakima County was the first in the state to implement this controversial new federal program designed to identify illegal immigrants accused of breaking criminal laws, but at least 10 other counties among Washingtons 39 total are slated to join in upcoming months.

According to Seattle Times reporter Amy Harris, Secure Communities, run by the Department of Homeland Security [DHS] through its ICE division, is designed to snag illegal immigrants accused of crimes and repeat immigration violators.

Secure communities

Under the program, the fingerprints of anyone booked into county jail are run through a DHS database. If a match or hit results, indicating a previous violation, ICE asks that the individual be held an additional 48 hours for an ICE-agent interview. Then a decision will be made about what to do with the offender. 

There has always been a potential for an officer to get an ICE hit, which is basically an immigration or terrorist detainer, said Sheriff Johnson. This has been in effect since 9/11. I have never had it happen to me, and I only know of only a handful of times, maybe fewer, that it happened to anyone Ive worked with. That could happen on any traffic stop or contact. The Secure Communities database will only be checked though when someone is actually booked into jail. 

We will not book anyone for the purpose of having them checked by ICE, he emphasized, and I will not tolerate any profiling or discrimination.

Hispanic leaders surprised

Fernando Rodriguez Casillas, coordinator of Hispanic community services for Enterprise Cascadia [formerly Shorebank Enterprise], headquartered in Ilwaco, knew about Secure Communities but was surprised to find out that it would be implemented in Pacific County.

It surprises me that the sheriff is telling you that, he said by phone. If the sheriff is introducing this Secure Communities program wow you could see more people having problems commuting to work, especially in the area from Bay Center and Raymond to Goose Point.

This could hurt us a lot this could have a big effect on our community. 

Washington state requires proof of identity, state residency and a Social Security number to secure a drivers license but not proof of citizenship. Washington, New Mexico and Utah are the only states with this policy; something that puts them in the friendly to immigrants column. But the implementation of the Secure Communities program could change that for Washington.

Norma Hernandez, executive director of the Lower Columbia Hispanic Council, with offices in Astoria and a large constituency in Pacific and Clatsop Counties, was equally surprised she had not heard about the move to implement this program. Come on, she said, we are too small of an area not to talk to one another! 

Most of our Hispanic community work in the hospitality, service industries or canneries doing fish processing. Theyre not taking anybodys job. They are doing jobs nobody else wants to do.

Although Hernandez and Rodriguez had not spoken to Sheriff Johnson because they did not know about the impending implementation of this program, they indicated that they would like to be in contact with him.

Johnson said, I would welcome an open discussion with them if they would like to meet with me.

Hernandez and Rodriguez both indicated that there are roughly 3,000 Hispanics in Clatsop County and between 1,500 to 2,000 in Pacific County. They both felt a fairly high percentage, perhaps as many as 60 to 70 percent, are undocumented workers. In Pacific County this could amount to as many as 1,000 residents.

No new impact?

According to Sheriff Johnson, he and other local sheriffs and police chiefs heard about the program several months ago at a meeting of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) in Seattle. Two ICE agents explained the details and indicated that counties could opt in to the Federal program one-by-one; a statewide decision was not needed.

Johnson presented the information to his command staff and a decision was made to go ahead with the program. Johnson said, I felt that the program was not that much different from what we had been doing in the past. Everybody who goes to jail is checked. It is not a matter of profiling. Ive never stood for that.

No one has expressed concern about this program except One America, who met with us to talk about it.

Johnson indicated that the program required paperwork from all legal precincts in the county. Letters from judges in Raymond, South Bend, Shoalwater and Long Beach indicate that they will grant authority to allow people booked into jail in their courts to be run through the ICE database.

One America has concerns

Toby Guevin, state policy and legislative manager for One America [www.weareoneamerica.org/], voiced concerns about the Secure Communities program in a phone interview. There has been no community outreach in any of the counties that are opting into this program. This is one of our primary concerns throughout the unrolling of the program a lack of transparency.

We have met with seven sheriffs of the 15 to18 counties who have signed up for the program, he continued, but not one of those counties has spoken with the local immigrant or Latino population nobody outside of law enforcement and this is the case in Pacific County as well. In fact, in Yakima County law enforcement officials refused to meet with representatives from the Hispanic community.

We spoke with Sheriffs Johnson and Whelan [Grays Harbor] and voiced our concerns. We had a very congenial meeting, he added.

Guevin noted the fear factor that programs like this inculcate in the Hispanic community as one of their major concerns. Hispanics who may be the victim of domestic violence or theft are less likely to call law enforcement with this kind of program in place.  In some cases immigrants are victimized by unscrupulous individuals who take advantage of this reluctance to engage local police.

The second issue mentioned by Guevin is that the program could result in added costs to the county for the required additional jail time while inmates wait for the ICE agent interview. ICE doesnt cover the costs for local jails for this required 48- hour holding period for individuals who would otherwise be released. So those additional hours the county is not getting reimbursed for, he said.

Guevin also noted that the governors of three states Illinois, New York and Massachusetts who originally opted into the program are trying to opt out, with no success so far. There are definite themes throughout, including the level of non-criminals deported and how it undermines community trust, said Guevin. He noted that U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin wrote, There is ample evidence that ICE and DHS have gone out of their way to mislead the public about Secure Communities.

It seems to be true even when local officials say it wont happen that individuals stopped for a routine traffic violation have been deported, he added.

Law Enforcement Decision 

Norman Bud Cuffel, Pacific County commissioner, indicated, I wouldnt be surprised if we have as many as 500 undocumented workers in our county. I wouldnt think there were many more than that.

Cuffel indicated that county commissioners had heard a presentation by Sheriff Johnson about the potential implementation of the Secure Communities program but recognized it as something to be decided by the sheriffs office alone. 

It was not something the commissioners were especially involved in, Cuffel said, although he did indicate that we had some citizens questioning Lisa Ayers about it.

Commissioner Jon Kaino echoed his colleague, indicating, The sheriff mentioned this [Secure Communities] at a recent meeting but it was not discussed at length as this is a policy decision strictly within his purview.

Cuffel added, There is no financial impact whatsoever for this program, at least thats what I was told, although that certainly doesnt make it true. 

Sheriff Johnson indicated, Any additional costs will be negligible. I have been promised that in most cases the hold will be 24 hours or less. Also, no one will be automatically deported. They, as is the case today, will always go before a judge and would be afforded a deportation hearing. There are checks and balances. 

Johnson continued, There have always, as far as I can remember in my 30-plus years of law enforcement, been immigration checks done when there is cause to believe we are holding an illegal immigrant. The only thing different is that now it will be automatic, and it will be done more fairly as everyone will be checked, not just a portion of those that are booked.

Farm Labor resolution needed

Hernandez said that the Hispanic community would like to solicit the support of their employers on this and other immigration issues but do not want to put them at risk or highlight the fact that many are hiring undocumented individuals.

On the issue of seasonal employees needed to keep many Peninsula establishments operating, Cuffed noted, There needs to be some sort of a resolution for farm labor in the summer but its a political football that the big boys are kicking around now. I have a pretty strong feeling that if a person wants to live in our county they should make the effort to become a citizen. 

Many have noted that part of the immigration problem is the small quota of immigrants allowed into the United States from Mexico; and that raising this quota would make it possible for more undocumented workers to become citizens.

This is a good place for the dont ask, dont tell rule, Cuffel added. It didnt work anywhere else but it might work here.