Police to Give INS Aliens Arrested on Misdemeanors

San Diego police will turn over undocumented immigrants arrested on misdemeanor charges to the U. S. Border Patrol for return to their home countries and possible federal prosecution under a new policy unveiled Wednesday by Police Chief Bob Burgreen.

The new procedures, details of which are under study by the Police Department and the city’s Citizens’ Advisory Board on Police Community Relations, are aimed at perhaps “thousands” of undocumented arrestees who are cited for misdemeanors and released to the streets because there is no space for them in county jails, Burgreen said in an interview.

“We see this as a real deterrent to aliens who are coming into our country simply to rip us off,” Burgreen said.

Assistance From Agents

The policy change will bring Border Patrol agents into police headquarters to aid in the identification of undocumented immigrants after initial screening by arresting officers and the police lieutenant in charge of a shift. If the Border Patrol agent determines that a person scheduled for release is undocumented, agents would take him into custody for return to his home country or deportation, Border Patrol spokesman Mike Gregg said.

An undocumented person arrested by police a second time who has previously been deported could face felony charges of illegal entry into the United States, Gregg said. The crime is punishable by a year in jail.

The new policy, proposed to the Citizens Advisory Board on Wednesday, received cautious support from some Latino activists and City Councilman Bob Filner, whose district covers the city’s border region.

‘Reasonable Policy’

Filner believes the plan “is a reasonable policy for the city to pursue,” said Allen Jones, a Filner aide. “If people are committing crimes, it makes no difference what their country of origin is.”

Roberto Martinez, co-chairman of the Coalition for Law and Justice, a Latino advocacy group, said that “we know there is a problem with certain numbers of undocumented people coming into this town who are involved in illegal activity, criminal activity. We can’t ignore that.”

Martinez, who was briefed by Burgreen on the new proposal last week, said that “on the surface we don’t have a problem” with the new plan. He said, however, that there must be safeguards against arbitrary application of the policy against undocumented immigrants not accused of crimes.

Martinez added that his organization is still studying details of the plan.

Opposition Voiced

But Herman Baca, chairperson of the Committee on Chicano Rights, said, “I think (the policy) is going to be used as an excuse to harass and violate the rights of any person of Mexican-American ancestry in the Chicano community.”

Burgreen, who said he is still taking advice from city officials and Latino groups on details of the policy, promised that the policy will not be used as a pretext for rounding up undocumented immigrants who have not committed crimes.

“My direction will be that no games are to be played,” Burgreen said.

Since August, 1986, the Police Department has declined to aid the Border Patrol by detaining undocumented immigrants who are not charged with crimes. That policy will not change under the new procedures. (A number of other county law enforcement agencies, including the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, do hold suspected undocumented immigrants for the Border Patrol).

Will Be Handed Over

However, undocumented immigrants accused of crimes such as assault and battery, trespass, carrying a concealed weapon or breaking into an automobile will be turned over to the Border Patrol when the policy takes effect, which hasn’t been decided.

American citizens arrested for the same crimes still will be cited and released in most cases. The difference, Burgreen said, is that police keep addresses of those people and are able to locate them if they fail to appear in court. Undocumented immigrants are often impossible to find, he said.

The county’s packed jails cause police to release more than 100 arrestees daily, some of them for crimes involving violence and drug possession.

No records are kept on how many misdemeanor arrestees are undocumented, according to Kimberly Glenn, supervising administrative analyst in the Police Department’s crime analysis division. However, Burgreen estimated that perhaps thousands of people, many of them repeat offenders, would be affected by the new rules.

Same People Over and Over

“We are seeing the same people over and over,” he said.

Burgreen said he will take into account the advice of activists, city officials and the Citizens Advisory Board about details of implementing the new policy but intends to institute “either this policy or something similar to it.” He has the authority to adopt the plan.

Andrea Skorepa, chairman of the Citizens Advisory Board, said a subcommittee of that panel will review the policy proposal and report back with recommendations next month.