November 16, 2007
Making Sense of the New Illegal Immigration Ordinances With Chief of Police Charlie Deane
As always, the Region’s Chamber seeks to keep its members informed and aware of issues that can impact their businesses. With all the confusion surrounding the new illegal immigration ordinances passed by the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, we welcomed an offer from Prince William County Police Department Chief Charlie Deane to shed some light on the subject. This was not a political event, but rather an opportunity for open communication and clarification. Chief Deane, who has served with the department since its 1970 inception, began by saying that the police department does not fall on either side of political extremes, but walks down the middle, focusing on its primary duty of protecting and serving those in Prince William. Find out what else Chief Deane had to say…
Police focus is on criminal aliens. Immigration status will be checked when an individual is held on suspicion of illegal activity and there is probable cause to think that they may be in the country illegally.
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Probable cause is a flexible term and is based on common sense and intuition, grounds can include:
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Possessing a forged identification.
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Giving the wrong address.
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Inability to speak English.
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All officers will receive training on fair and reasonable standards for determining probable cause.
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287(g) program allows the Immigration Authority to give cross designation to local police departments so that they can screen for immigration status and begin the deportation process. Prince William began steps to participate in this program in December 2006.
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Local police do not have ability to deport illegal immigrants, only to contact the Immigration Authority and begin the process.
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Local police cannot arrest an individual just for being in the US illegally, there must be another, criminal, reason for the stop or arrest.
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Entering the country illegally is a misdemeanor and is not prosecutable. If caught, the penalty is deportation. Returning to the US after deportation is a felony.
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Currently, the police department has 200 people screened and awaiting deportation proceedings.
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There are an estimated 12 million people of various nationalities illegally residing in the United States. This is a national problem that local police departments are not designed to solve.
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Cooperation between ALL members of the community – legal and illegal – is essential in order to prevent and solve crimes in the whole community.
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The Prince William County Police Department will NOT pursue immigration issues with crime victims or cooperative witnesses of crimes.
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One unintended consequence of the new policies may be a rise in
unsolved crime and the under-reporting of crime by minority populations. For instance, criminals sometimes target immigrants because they are likely to carry cash, walk rather than drive and may be afraid to report the crime. -
From a law enforcement perspective, dealing with immigration issues as tasked is a three-phased process:
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Phase I: Comply with the new ordinance
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Continue to work with Immigration Custom Enforcement (ICE) to remove criminal gang members. This effort has nearly 400 criminal alien gang members being deported or with deportations pending. ICE is informed on a daily basis regarding the arrest of any criminal alien gang members in the County.
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Finalize implementation of 287(g) immigration enforcement program.
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Phase II: Educate the public
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Communicate exactly what the new ordinance does and doesn’t mean through a comprehensive program to include partnership with the media, public forums and surveys, with a goal of:
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Preventing “silent victims” who are afraid to report crimes or witnesses who fear talking to police.
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Realistically managing public expectations of the police department’s legal authority and limitations.
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Phase III: Evaluate and report progress
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Evaluate results of annual citizen survey on perceptions of police performance and community safety conducted by the University of Virginia.
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Track crime rates and trends in victim/witness cooperation and the department’s effectiveness in solving crime and.
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Monitor the cost of lawsuits against the police department and the County.
In closing, Chief Deane reiterated that all people deserve to be safe from crime and that the focus of the police department will remain on treating all who reside in Prince William in a fair, lawful and reasonable manner.
