Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Program draws fire regionally
BENTONVILLE — A Fayetteville nurse faces deportation to Kenya after her arrest on a charge later dropped and despite her court-ordered release, federal immigration and local law enforcement officials were told in a meeting Tuesday.
Another Fayetteville resident, arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, remains in federal custody despite the federal government’s acknowledgment he’s
legally entitled to permanent residency, according to another account at the same meeting.
Those accounts and others were given at the required annual public forum on the 287(g) program of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The program allows local law enforcement agencies to check the immigration status of people arrested and notify the federal agency when the person appears to have violated immigration law. It requires a public hearing each year hosted by immigration officials and local law enforcement agencies that volunteer to participate in the program.
Benton and Washington counties are the only two agencies in Arkansas participating, according to the program’s website.
The 287(g) program involves only cases of people taken into custody for local charges. It doesn’t authorize local law enforcement to make arrests over alleged immigration law violations, Arkansas program manager Elvira Acuna reminded the audience. Acuna presided over the meeting.
An overflow crowd of 150 packed Tuesday’s hearing at a conference room at the Benton County Sheriff’s Office with another 20, at least, waiting outside. None of those signed up to speak at the hour-long forum favored the program.
Benton County Sheriff Shawn Holloway, the only speaker defending it, got his chance to talk when an opponent yielded two minutes of his allotted three minutes to him. Another would-be supporter wasn’t allowed to speak because he hadn’t signed the required sign-in sheet before the meeting began. Holloway assured the crowd he listened to and will respect their concerns people being taken into custody for minor offenses are facing deportation, but repeated his office only gets involved in cases after an arrest is made.
“Immigration needs fixing at a federal level,” Holloway said.
He said later he couldn’t comment on cases brought up at the meeting unless they occurred in his jurisdiction and until they were verified.
The first case brought up at Tuesday’s meeting involves Rahab W. Kingori of Fayetteville. Program opponent Jessica McClard gave the first public comments at the meeting, speaking on Kingori’s behalf. At least one other scheduled speaker surrendered her allotted time so McClard could complete the account.
Court orders and other records available online, including both a Friday court order for Kingori’s release and a granted motion for emergency relief later the same day, confirm McClard’s account.
Kingori’s detention and release are the subject of an internal investigation by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, jail administrator Maj. Randall Denzer confirmed Tuesday afternoon.
Her attorney, Aaron Cash of Fayetteville, also backed McClard’s account Tuesday. His client is in U.S. immigration officials’ custody en route to a federal facility in Louisiana, but is expected to be released on bond as early as today, Cash said. Kingori came to the United States as a student and has a pending application for permanent residency, according to McClard and Cash. Kingori was accused of a crime in August and arrested by Fayetteville police, but the charge was dismissed Dec. 5, court records show.
ICE requested Kingori be kept in custody after the dismissal pending an immigration “detainer,” according to court records. By law, the agency had 48 hours from the time and date of the dismissal of the local charge to take Kingori into custody, according to court records. That 48-hour deadline passed Friday afternoon, so Cash demanded her release. When the Sheriff’s Office received notice of the dismissal is a matter of dispute, McClard acknowledged, saying the Sheriff’s Office informed Cash on Friday it had received no notice of the dismissal of the charges.
The Sheriff’s Office demanded to see a copy of the court order dismissing the charges and authorizing Kingori’s release before it would release Kingori, according to McClard and Cash. Such court records are matters of public record and are available online, Cash said. Cash emailed a copy of the order, a letter demanding Kingori’s release, and sent two faxes, each to a different Sheriff’s Office numbers. At 4:15 Friday afternoon, Kingori filed a court petition and motion for emergency relief.
“At 4:48 p.m. Washington County Circuit Judge Joanna Taylor signed an order requiring the Washington County sheriff to release Ms. Kingori immediately,” McClard said.
About 5:05 p.m. Friday, Cash arrived at the Washington County Detention Center with a copy of the release order, which had been delivered to the Sheriff’s Office by the court, McClard said. Kingori’s husband arrived shortly after. Another 45 minutes passed. Cash called Taylor and, at 6:26 p.m. Friday, Taylor called Cash and informed him she had called the booking department at the jail.
Kingori was released shortly after the judge’s call. An immigration agent was waiting for her. The agent said Kingori would have to post a cash bond of $20,000 no later than Monday to remain free. She and her husband didn’t raise the money until Tuesday, Cash said, borrowing it from a friend.
The case involving the permanent resident was brought up at the meeting by Clint Schnekloth, lead pastor at Good Shepard Lutheran Church in Fayetteville. According to Schnekloth, a member of his church named Tony Makinda was recently picked up for driving under the influence. After his arrest, authorities discovered his green card, or certification of permanent residence, expired. Only after Makinda was taken to a federal facility in Louisiana was it confirmed the federal government failed to send Makinda a renewal notice, there was no question of his eligibility and his certification was “on the way,” according to Schnekloth.