Santa Fe County jail officials cooperate with immigration and customs agents to the extent required by law, no more, no less, according to Santa Fe County Attorney Steve Ross.

At a hearing Tuesday, he acknowledged that Santa Fe has been classified by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials as a "non-cooperating community" as a result.

Ross told county commissioners that jail administrators honor official documented requests from ICE agents to hold certain inmates up to 48 hours after they would normally be released to give immigration officials a chance to pick them up. That, he said, is required by law.

But all other cooperation or communication between the two entities is optional. And since 2008, the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Facility has "had a very low level of cooperation with ICE concerning the identification, interviewing or detention of aliens."

Ross said that ICE reviews the county's website on a regular basis to determine whether persons of interest are in the facility, and in some cases issues a detainer requesting that the inmate be held.

He said recent guidelines issued by the agency indicate it focuses on foreign nationals who pose a danger to national security, are a risk to public safety, are suspected of terrorism or espionage, or are determined to pose a danger to national security. People who are convicted of violent crimes, felons and repeat offenders are of particular interest.

But Marcela Diaz, executive director of the immigrant rights group Somos Un Pueblo Unido, said Ross' presentation didn't give commissioners the whole story.

According to her, any cooperation with ICE -- including honoring detainers -- is voluntary. There is no statutory requirement for the county to comply with immigration holds requested by ICE, she said.

"People misunderstand what an ICE hold is," Diaz said. "They have to tread carefully." In fact, Diaz said, holding inmates beyond the date they would normally be released puts the county at risk for being sued by United States citizens who are mistakenly held based on ICE detainers.

Furthermore, Diaz said, keeping inmates longer costs Santa Fe County money it cannot afford.

Ross estimated that Santa Fe County received about $75,000 from the federal government last year for costs it incurred holding suspected illegal immigrants for ICE.

But Diaz said, "Most of the people we are holding don't meet the threshold for reimbursement." Right now, Diaz said, Santa Fe County is only being reimbursed for about one-third of the inmates it holds as a "favor" to ICE.

She produced a copy of correspondence between an attorney for Santa Clara County, Calif., and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Assistant Director David Venturella. When asked by the county whether detainers are simply requests that a county could legally ignore, Venturella responded, "ICE views an immigration detainer as a request."

ICE holds also create a public safety issue within the immigrant community, Diaz said, because the threat of an ICE hold makes people afraid to report even minor offenses that might normally result in a 24-hour jail stay.

Santa Fe is known as an immigrant-friendly community. The city of Santa Fe even adopted a resolution in 2002 saying it would not use its resources to identify and apprehend undocumented immigrants.

But it's unclear whose politics shaped Santa Fe County's policies when it comes to ICE holds.

Asked Tuesday what guidance she's gotten regarding her administration's relationship with ICE and what basis she uses for determining how she handles ICE requests, Santa Fe County Detention Center Director Annabelle Romero said, "It's been well known what our practice is. We've been doing what we are required by law to do."

Romero said the county jail normally has 20 to 25 inmates on ICE holds at any given time. Asked what type of inmates are singled out by ICE, Romero said, "It's all over the spectrum, in my opinion." She acknowledged that the county is facing a potential lawsuit from a U.S. citizen on this issue.

County staff told the commission they are developing a system for gathering data about ICE holds, but one does not currently exist.

County Commissioner Robert Anaya said Tuesday that he would like to see "more stringent policies that afford complete cooperation and coordination with ICE." Anaya made a motion to create a resolution to strengthen the county's policies so that they are "better in line with communicating and coordinating with ICE."

Commissioner Daniel Mayfield seconded the motion, but commission Chairwoman Liz Stefanics said it should be taken up at a later date because there had been no public notice.

"I'm concerned that we have violent people that are being released," said Anaya, "potentially violent people that perhaps haven't gone through the process yet."

Commissioner Virginia Vigil noted that "on the other side of the coin," people could be being detained illegally as a result of ICE detainer requests.

Diaz said Santa Fe County should do more research about how other counties are handling the issue. She said several counties, including San Francisco and Cook County near Chicago, have decided they are better off ignoring ICE detainers than paying the extra costs and assuming the added liability of holding inmates who would otherwise be released.

Ross said he'll meet with Anaya to discuss the issue and draft a resolution on the topic that can be considered for adoption at a future date.

Contact Phaedra Haywood at 986-3068 or phaywood@sfnewmexican.com.




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