Sheriff's policy with arrested immigrants is fair
I recently had a chat with Marin County's elected sheriff, Jamie Scardina. The Sheriff's Office effectively serves as the police agency responsible for all unincorporated communities in Marin. His office also provides courtroom bailiffs and operates the county jail located at the Civic Center.
In recent years, the Sheriff's Office has been free of major controversies. Their patrol officers are well-regarded in the neighborhoods they serve. The one point of contention that's been in play for years is the sheriff's relationship with ICE, the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Bay Area sheriffs walk a fine line between enforcing federal immigration law and accommodating political progressives and immigration advocates.
Recognize that ICE is far stricter than past president Donald Trump would lead one to believe. Those officers do their best with limited staffing to enforce federal law. Alternatively, the political left supports a virtual “open door” to all who wish to migrate here.
Marinites and most Californians tend to be sympathetic to those who fled other lands due to political persecution or widespread poverty. Like other Americans, they are intolerant of the few immigrants who abuse their host's generosity due to involvement in criminal activities.
Scardina, like most North Bay residents, is compassionate toward the “huddled masses” coming here for a better life. Witness his policy that “Deputies shall not inquire into an individual's immigration status for immigration enforcement purposes. No person shall be contacted, detained, or arrested solely on the basis of his or her immigration status.”
The sheriff also understands that somewhere a line must be drawn as it is with this policy: “Notification to (ICE) may also be made prior to release of an individual who is the subject of a (ICE) notification request only if … the individual has been arrested and had a judicial probable cause determination for a serious or violent felony.”
Those crimes include, but are not limited to, murder, attempted murder, voluntary manslaughter, rape, robbery of a person, arson, kidnapping, continuous sexual abuse of a child, carjacking and first-degree burglary.
Surely, responsible people agree that immigration authorities must be notified if the detained person is convicted or pleads guilty to one of the enumerated crimes. An exception is made if a court or the district attorney determines that there is lack of sufficient evidence and the charges are dismissed. In that case,
ICE is not notified of the release.
The issue arises following an arrest (and finding of probable cause), but before conviction. That's when the undocumented person is released and, pursuant to the sheriff's policy and federal law, ICE is alerted.
The law and the sheriff's approach are reasonable and fair. The undocumented migrant has taken actions which led to a legitimate belief that the individual has committed a major felony. American citizens are granted a higher standard before any action is taken that would be detrimental. That includes proof that a criminal activity beyond a reasonable doubt is required for conviction. That is a privilege of citizenship.
Is the undocumented immigrant, a guest in the county, entitled to the same standard before immigration authorities are alerted? It's a fair debating point, but I don't think so. They know well they must live a clean, crimefree life after they cross the border. If they fail to do so and engage in activities enabling a court to find that there's sufficient evidence that they've committed a major crime, then it's time for them to go back home.
That's not anti-immigrant, it's just common sense.