The Boston Police Division acknowledged that federal authorities could have issued the next variety of immigration detainer requests in 2024 than what was reported by the BPD commissioner, citing communication points stemming from faxed requests.
Police Commissioner Michael Cox reported that the division refused to behave on all 15 civil immigration detainer requests final 12 months, however the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shortly challenged Cox’s information, saying that the feds had lodged 198 detainer requests with BPD in 2024, none of which have been honored.
“BPD has documented a total of 15 ICE detainer requests received via facsimile in 2024, but acknowledges that (the Department of Homeland Security) may have different information,” BPD spokesperson Mariellen Burns stated in an announcement.
Burns stated immigration detainer requests are despatched through fax to a district police station when the Division of Homeland Safety “has determined that probable cause exists that the subject is a removable alien.” The tactic of communication could have led to fewer cases of detainer requests being recorded than have been despatched, she indicated in her assertion.
“In January 2023, BPD asked that ICE stop sending detainer requests solely via fax to district stations, and also send them to a central email address,” Burns stated. “To date, ICE has not used the email address. BPD will continue to work with local authorities to establish a better means of communication regarding civil detainer requests to comply with annual reporting requirements.”
In a letter filed this week with the Metropolis Council, Cox wrote that the 15 recorded civil detainer requests have been “not acted upon per the Boston Trust Act,” which prohibits BPD and different metropolis departments from cooperating with ICE in relation to detaining immigrants on civil warrants.
The Belief Act, which was first enacted in 2014 and enshrines the town’s sanctuary standing, nonetheless permits for cooperation with ICE in prison issues, in keeping with metropolis officers.
An ICE spokesperson stated in an announcement, nevertheless, that the detainers have been issued to the town’s police division to request the custody switch of 198 people ICE had “probable cause to believe were removable non-citizens” after that they had been arrested by BPD on fees that concerned “egregious criminal activity.”
The BPD assertion signifies that the division’s palms are tied by the Belief Act, which, Burns stated, prohibits a legislation enforcement official from detaining a person solely on the premise of a civil immigration detainer request after that individual is eligible for launch from custody.
Solely the bail commissioner or a court docket can authorize the discharge or the continued detention of a person from custody. The police division doesn’t have the authority to proceed to detain that individual as soon as she or he posts bail or is transferred to the court docket, Burns stated.
Burns added that BPD doesn’t implement immigration legal guidelines, nor inquire about a person’s immigration standing. An individual is taken into police custody solely when there’s possible trigger {that a} crime has been dedicated, and she or he is the topic of a legitimate arrest warrant contained inside the related database, she stated.
“Immigration detainers do not constitute a warrant or contain information regarding criminal conduct,” Burns stated, including that they’re restricted to info concerning an individual’s standing as a “removable alien.”
“Given that the Boston Police Department does not have the authority to continue to detain an individual eligible for release, does not have a role in enforcing immigration laws and cannot use department resources for immigration enforcement purposes, the Boston Police Department does not enforce civil immigration laws,” Burns stated.
The Metropolis Council voted to reaffirm the Belief Act final month. Mayor Michelle Wu was bashed by President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming border czar Tom Homan after citing the native legislation whereas vowing that the town would proceed to guard immigrants in “every possible way” beneath Trump’s mass deportation risk.
Cox, in his letter, wrote that the “Boston Police Department remains committed to complying with the Boston Trust Act and to building and strengthening relationships and trust with all our communities.”
“Boston’s immigrant communities should feel safe in reporting crime and quality of life issues to the department and proactively engaging with all members of the Boston Police Department,” Cox wrote.
ICE officers blasted the Metropolis of Boston and BPD for refusing 198 detainer requests final 12 months, saying the town was jeopardizing “public safety and national security.”
“Anyone that ICE issues a detainer for is not a victim or witness,” Todd Lyons, a high nationwide ICE official, stated in an announcement. “They are someone who has come to the attention of law enforcement because of egregious crime. Not honoring an ICE detainer only allows public safety threats back into our neighborhoods.”
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