Metro Police are changing their policies on turning over certain undocumented immigrants to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In a meeting of the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Friday, police lobbyist Chuck Callaway said Sheriff Joe Lombardo had directed the jail to not turn over undocumented immigrants who are booked for minor traffic crimes or misdeameanors.
“I know the jail is in the process of moving forward with that policy change,” Callaway said.
The department takes part in an agreement with ICE under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The agreement means that the jail screens anyone booked and allows ICE to request they be detained if they are wanted for deportation proceedings.
While municipalities under a 287(g) agreement could, in the past, choose to screen members of the public for immigration law violations, they can no longer do so, and Metro Police never did. Screening must occur at a jail.
