THE ALL-IN-ONE GUIDE TO

DEFEATING

ICE HOLD

REQUESTS

( a.k.a. Immigration Detainers )

Credits & Acknowledgements
Author:
Lena Graber, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild
Editors:
Ann Benson, Washington Defenders Association, Angela Junck, Immigrant Legal
Resource Center, Paromita Shah, National Immigration Project, Michelle Fei, Immigrant Defense Project, Melissa Keaney, National Immigration Law Center,
Alisa Wellek, Immigrant Defense Project
Design and layout:
Ronald Cortez
Illustrations:
Ronald Cortez and Julio Salgado
Spanish Translation
Shirley Leyro
Contributions:
Thank you to New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice, ICE Out of Rikers Coalition, Santa
Clara County Forum for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment, Washington Immigrant Rights
Coalition, D.C. Immigrants Rights Coalition
This publication was supported in part by a grant from the Soros Justice Fellowships
Program of the Open Society
© 2012

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE
This toolkit is designed to help communities prevent deportations by keeping local police separate
from immigration enforcement. The essential link between police and ICE is the ICE hold request,
also known as an immigration detainer. On the basis of ICE hold requests, state and local police hold
people in jail longer in order to hand them over to ICE. Without police departments willing to submit
to ICE hold requests, ICE would not be able to apprehend and deport so many people. Even if Secure
Communities, 287(g) and the Criminal Alien Program continue to operate, they are only as effective
as ICE hold requests allow them to be. The hold request is what actually allows ICE to apprehend and
deport people. Several communities have succeeded in enacting policies to stop submitting to ICE
hold requests, and this toolkit is designed to help other communities establish similar policies.

The Guide has 3 parts and an appendix
✚✚

 1 Staging Your Campaign Against ICE Hold Requests is an orientation to organizing on this
0
issue, focusing on how to identify your targets, define your goals, and build coalitions to
establish a better ICE hold policy in your community. This section provides a basic framework
for understanding and organizing around immigration enforcement in your community,
without going into excessive detail.

✚✚

 2 The Basics on Police-ICE Collusion provides essential information about what ICE hold
0
requests are and how they work, an outline of the criminal justice process and how information is
shared with ICE throughout, and general analysis of the effects of ICE hold requests on the criminal
system. This section is important to helping you understand how ICE works with your police, so that you
can develop effective strategies for countering immigration enforcement at the local level.

✚✚

0 3 Into the Weeds: More Strategic Information For a Campaign to Stop Turning People over to ICE delves
into the details of issues, arguments, messages, and resources that may be important in a local
campaign to stop police from holding people for ICE, including stories and case studies from ongoing
campaigns. Particularly important is the complex analysis of how much ICE hold requests cost, what
other laws you need to look out for, and advice about the difficult messaging of campaigns that involve
criminal justice issues.

✚✚

The Appendix compiles a variety of sample materials, fact sheets, talking points, flyers, ICE
records, and different ordinances related to ICE hold requests. Look here for templates to
work from on your own campaign materials. The Appendix is available as a separate document
from the National Immigration Project.

If you want more detailed assistance with an ICE hold campaign in
your community, please contact:
National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild:
Lena Graber, lena@nationalimmigrationproject.org [Boston, MA]
Paromita Shah, paromita@nationalimmigrationproject.org [Washington, DC]
Immigrant Legal Resource Center:
Angie Junck, ajunck@ilrc.org [San Francisco, CA]
Immigrant Defense Project:
Michelle Fei, mfei@immigrantdefenseproject.org [New York, NY]
Alisa Wellek, awellek@immigrantdefenseproject.org [New York, NY]
National Immigration Law Center:
Melissa Keaney, keaney@nilc.org [Los Angeles, CA]

PREFACE 	

iii

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IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT DEPENDS ON ICE HOLD REQUESTS

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ICE Hold request

PREFACE 	

iv

Immigration Detainer

Immigration Hold

	

TABLE OF CONTENTS

01	 STAGING YOUR CAMPAIGN
	

An orientation on how to defeat ICE hold requests

✚✚

Why are ICE hold requests important?............................... 02

✚✚

What are your goals?................................................................ 03

✚✚

Who are your targets?.............................................................. 04

✚✚

Who are your allies?.................................................................. 05

✚✚

What are your demands?........................................................ 06

✚✚

Key things to think about in your campaign.................... 07

02	 T HE BASICS ON POLICE-ICE COLLUSION:
	Essential information about immigration and criminal law enforcement
in your community
✚✚

All about ICE hold requests.................................................... 10

✚✚

ICE involvement in the criminal justice process.............. 14-15

✚✚

What are these immigration enforcement programs?.. 16

03	 INTO THE WEEDS:
	More strategic information and materials for a campaign to stop
turning people over to ICE
✚✚

Research and Data collection................................................ 18
•	 Selecting the right targets
•	 Conflicting state and federal laws

✚✚

Getting the financial aspects straight................................. 23
•	 How much do ICE hold requests cost?
•	 What other financial interests are at stake?
•	 Other financial impacts

✚✚

Messaging and Media.............................................................. 25
•	
•	
•	
•	
•	

✚✚

Framing the issues
Pros and cons of different messages
Helpful quotes from city and county officials
Common oppositional messages
Community case stories

Analyzing a policy proposal................................................... 31
•	 Elements of an ICE hold policy
•	 Evaluating outcomes of different policies

✚✚

Stories from selected campaigns......................................... 33- 42
•	
•	
•	
•	

	

New York, NY
King County, WA
New Orleans, LA
Santa Clara County, CA

APPENDIX

	Compiled fact sheets, media materials, and resources from other
successful campaigns

PREFACE 	

v

PART 01

STAGING YOUR 
CAMPAIGN

AN ORIENTATION ON HOW TO DEFEAT ICE HOLD REQUESTS

Y
EQUALIT

Y
DIGNIT

RIGHTS
✚✚

Why are ICE hold requests important?

✚✚

What are your goals?

✚✚

Who are your targets?

✚✚

Who are your allies?

✚✚

What are your demands?

✚✚

Key things to think about in your campaign

WHY ARE ICE HOLD REQUESTS IMPORTANT?
We are in an era of mass deportation. The Department of Homeland Security has deported
more than a million people in the last three years. With an ever-burgeoning budget and
expanded information-sharing technology, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seems
to be everywhere. In particular, ICE has increasingly co-opted the criminal justice system to
achieve its immigration enforcement goals. As a result, state and local police are very often the
entry point into detention and deportation. That is where ICE hold requests come in.
A handful of ICE programs operate specifically to get information from state and local police
about noncitizens in their custody. These programs increase ICE’s ability to locate, arrest, and
deport ever greater numbers of immigrants. The Criminal Alien Program (CAP), 287(g), and most
recently Secure Communities (S-Comm) all operate on the same basic premise: notifying ICE
when the police have taken custody of an immigrant. From there, it’s much easier for ICE to
detain and deport someone: ICE simply asks the local jail to hold that person for them. This
request that ICE makes to the local jail is known as an “immigration detainer” or “ICE hold.”
Rather than releasing the person on bail or at the end of serving their sentence, the police will
often continue to hold them so that ICE agents can come pick them up and take them to
immigration detention.
No matter which program is involved in identifying the person (whether CAP, 287(g), S-Comm,
or others), the result of that notification to ICE is usually a hold request from ICE back to the jail.
ICE hold requests, therefore, are the common link from local police to the deportation pipeline.
ICE places hundreds of thousands of hold requests on immigrants across the country every
year.

ICE HOLD
REQUEST

An ICE hold is a request to a jail regarding someone
in custody. The request asks the jail to notify ICE
when the person will be released, and to hold the
person for an extra 48 hours so that ICE has an
opportunity to come get them.

This first section focuses on organizing and the basic structure of a campaign to limit ICE’s
power in your community: making strategic decisions about goals, targets, demands, allies, and
tactics.
A campaign against ICE hold requests seeks to prevent detention and deportation by stopping
local police from sending people into the immigration system. More and more people have
been swept into deportation by way of local police and ICE hold requests: local police stop an
immigrant and place them under arrest, and ICE then places a hold so that the police will not
release the person, but instead turn them over to ICE.

But the police don’t have to comply with ICE hold requests;
they are free to ignore them.
To protect immigrant communities and fight deportations, we must stop police from handing
people over to ICE. And that can be achieved by a local policy against submitting to ICE hold
requests.

STAGING YOUR CAMPAIGN	02

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS?
POSSIBLE GOALS OF A CAMPAIGN TO STOP TURNING
PEOPLE OVER TO ICE
Many immigrant rights proponents have been involved in campaigns to stop the
deportation of someone in our community, or in favor of immigration reform in Congress. A campaign against ICE hold requests is particularly local in focus: it is a local or state decision, rather than
a choice of the federal government. In most states, each police department, sheriff’s department, or
state police force sets its own policies, in accordance with local, state, and federal laws. In more rural
areas, there may not be a municipal police force, and the primary law enforcement agency may be a
county sheriff or the state police force. Each different law enforcement agency may follow different
rules for how they interact with and share information with ICE. Your campaign is trying to change
those relationships by building a wedge between local law enforcement and ICE.
A policy against submitting to ICE hold requests can also be progress toward many larger goals:
preventing deportations, protecting immigrant communities, keeping people out of detention,
keeping families together, and promoting civil and human rights of immigrants.

Here are some other more detailed objectives that might be a
compelling motive of your campaign:
✚✚

Provide a clear line between police and immigration enforcement

✚✚

Take a stand against unjust immigration laws

✚✚

Improve immigrant community trust and in turn better ensure public safety

✚✚

End expenditures of local resources on federal deportation initiatives

✚✚

Protect vulnerable populations, such as juveniles, and witnesses to and victims of crime

✚✚

E nd discriminatory practices and protect the rights of immigrants in
the criminal justice system

PROTECT
IMMIGRANT
COMMUNITIES

DEFEND
HUMAN
RIGHTS

SEPARATE
POLICE
FROM ICE

STOP
SUBMITTING TO
ICE HOLD
REQUESTS

STAGING YOUR CAMPAIGN	03

STOP
DEPORTATIONS

KEEP OUR
FAMILIES OUT
OF
DETENTION

WHO ARE YOUR TARGETS?
ICE hold requests operate in police stations, local jails, and state and federal prisons.
Although ICE is responsible for issuing hold requests, it is your local law enforcement who
choose to submit to them or not. This is the crux of a campaign to reject ICE hold requests: local communities have power over whether they will cooperate with an ICE hold,
regardless of S-Comm or other federal laws or programs.
A jail is usually the term for a city or county detention facility where people are held after
arrest, while awaiting proceedings in court, or while serving shorter sentences. Jails are
often, but certainly not always, managed by a Sheriff’s department, and so in many cases
the Sheriff will be a primary target, because he or she has power to accommodate ICE
hold requests or to release individuals. A state prison is a facility where people with
convictions serve longer sentences, usually those of more than one or two years. A federal
prison is run by the federal government, for people who have been convicted of federal
crimes, in federal courts.

Many towns have multiple jails:
✚✚

Police station hold rooms

✚✚

City jail

✚✚

County jail

✚✚

State Dept. of Corrections facility

!

WARNING

!

ICE may issue a hold request on someone held in
any of these facilities or seek to interview or get
other information about immigrants in any of
these facilities

WHO HAS POWER TO MAKE POLICY ABOUT ICE HOLD
REQUESTS?
Law enforcement reports to local government.
Sheriffs are likely to be primary targets in a campaign against ICE hold requests, because
they usually manage county jails. Meanwhile, most towns have a municipal police department that may also be responding to ICE hold requests.
But local government, such as the city council or county commission, can create the rules
that law enforcement must follow. Also, power over the law enforcement budgets can be
an important avenue for establishing new rules about ICE hold requests.
In many states, sheriffs or county law enforcement report to county-level government, such as a
county executive, county commission, or board of supervisors. City police are usually accountable to
town-level authorities, such as a mayor or city council.
But remember, these agencies, officers, and authorities are very different from state to
state!
For detailed information about the power and authority of law enforcement and local
government bodies, see the charts on page 19-20.

STAGING YOUR CAMPAIGN	04
SECTION NAME	04

WHO ARE YOUR ALLIES?

For possible allies, think about
why you want – or need –
their help, and what they
bring to the table.
What is their position on the
issues? Their capacity and
availability? Their expertise?
What influence do they have?

Every successful ICE hold campaign is the result of a coalition effort. The broader your coalition,
the more pressure you can generate to get a policy against submitting to ICE hold requests.
The goal of a campaign against ICE hold requests is to get your local law enforcement to stop
or limit turning people over to ICE. But different allies may frame the issues differently. Many
immigrant rights groups may be focused on the goal of preventing detention and deportations. Human rights groups might call it defending human rights. Domestic violence advocates
might be concerned about undermining police protection for immigrant victims.
Especially in small towns without many civic organizations, you will need grassroots power as
well as support from local leaders. Below is a list of many types of organizations, professionals,
and individuals who may be important figures in your campaign. Some of these groups could
be valuable allies, or could be outspoken opponents.

Groups likely to be stakeholders in your campaign:
✚✚

Immigrant Rights Organizations

✚✚

Civil Rights Organizations

✚✚

Labor Groups

✚✚

Immigration Lawyers

✚✚

Human Rights Groups

✚✚

Reporters, Journalists, or Bloggers

✚✚

Local Leaders or City Officials

✚✚

Criminal Justice Advocates

✚✚

Judges

✚✚

Congregations and Faith-Based Organizations

✚✚

Law Enforcement Leaders

✚✚

District Attorney and Prosecutors

These Local Players May Be Strong Support or Strong Opposition
✚✚

Public

Defenders - Criminal defense attorneys are likely to have crucial access to jails, and
detailed knowledge of local criminal processes and how immigrants are treated. But they
may have limited capacity to engage in the campaign.

✚✚

City/County Attorneys - It helps to have a local official who knows the law to influence
targets. The sheriff may put more stock in legal information from a city or county attorney
rather than from residents.

✚✚

 istrict Attorney and Prosecutors - Prosecutors can occasionally be allies, but can also be
D
outspoken opponents who will use individual stories about immigrants against your
campaign.

✚✚

L aw Enforcement Unions - Prison guard unions will staunchly oppose measures that would
bring less people into jails and potentially jeopardize their jobs.

✚✚

L ocal Commissions or Boards - Many cities have a Human Rights Commission who may take
complaints and do a public investigation. Or a public safety commission may be a group of
civilians who make recommendations on law enforcement policy.

✚✚

 irectly Impacted Community Members - Who will these policies really affect? What are their
D
concerns? Are they prepared to share their stories? How will you make sure you are accountable to them? What will you do to encourage their leadership?

✚✚

F amily Service Providers - Social workers and family and child services may also have a stake
in immigration enforcement and provide a unique and helpful voice.

✚✚

Domestic Violence Advocates - Domestic violence advocates are also key allies with a
powerful voice for victims and survivors and the need for public safety for immigrants.

STAGING YOUR CAMPAIGN	05

WHAT ARE YOUR DEMANDS?
SAY NO TO ICE
HOLD REQUESTS

Your demands will depend on community concerns and political realities. Below is
advice for starting to think about your specific policy asks, and more detailed
suggestions and analyses are included on page 31.
We can think of fighting against ICE hold requests either in terms of limiting ICE's ability
to get information that might trigger a hold request and help deport people, or in terms of
limiting the effects of an ICE hold request. Both of these catergories of demands are
valuable, and they can work best when combined as a comprehensive rejection of ICE
co-opting local police for immigration enforcement.

Preventing ICE Access

!

WARNING

!

Federal law (8 U.S.C. & 1373)
prohibits local or state bodies
from preventing local or state
officers from communicating with
ICE about an individual's immigration status. You must craft your
demands carefully so as not to
run afoul of this law.

Rejecting ICE Hold Requests

››

 on't ask about immigration
D
status

››

 on't submit to ICE hold
D
requests

››

D on't ask about place of birth*

››

››

 on't let ICE into your jail
D
without a warrant

 on't call ICE about release
D
dates

››

 on't send criminal case
D
information to ICE

 on't allow ICE hold requests
D
to affect bail

››

I nform detainees if ICE has
placed a hold request

››

* Place of birth information is a major hook for ICE to identify
suspected immigrants. The fewer instances in which your
county collects this information, the less likely that ICE will
use it to detain and deport people.

Think about what your targets can do:
✚✚

✚✚

✚✚

S anta Clara passed a resolution against participation in immigration enforcement.
Advocates then pointed to this as support for their ICE holds ordinance.

A Local Ordinance (may be harder to enact, but also harder to change):
✚✚

✚✚

RESOLVED:

A Resolution (not binding, but can build momentum and community support):

T he county legislative bodies of Santa Clara and Cook Counties passed laws that state
their counties would not hold people for ICE once their criminal case was over and they
were due to be released.

Administrative policy (may be easily amended if there is new leadership or change of opinion):
✚✚

T he Mayor of Washington, D.C. and the Governor of Vermont passed executive orders that
directed law enforcement not to ask individuals about immigration status.

✚✚

S an Francisco Sheriff's Office and San Miguel, NM, Sheriff's Office adopted internal jail
policies to limit enforcement of ICE hold requests.

Experts: Allies with technical or policy expertise in criminal justice and immigration law can be really
helpful to developing your demands. If you do not have people who understand the law and enforcement systems on your team, you may end up supporting policies that don’t really match your goals or
don’t make any real changes. Don’t let your demands be compromised by technicalities of immigration law or criminal justice. If you seek more information or want help analyzing your situation, contact
one of the organizations listed on page iii.

STAGING YOUR CAMPAIGN	06

KEY THINGS TO THINK ABOUT IN YOUR CAMPAIGN
✚✚

Collect Stories: Sharing stories makes the problem of ICE hold requests real for policymakers.
It not only helps you prove there is an ongoing problem, it helps your allies and targets
envision how the proposed policy can make a difference in the lives of people in your community. We all are familiar with innumerable tragedies of the deportation system mistreating
people and destroying families. And yet it can be hard to find an example of exactly the issue
you are trying to capture, or perhaps more frequently, people are too afraid to come forward
with their stories. The risks they may face can be substantial. And sometimes we look for the
“perfect story” even if it might not reflect the realities that our communities deal with. Keep in
mind the variety of sources for people who might share their stories. Ask congregations,
immigration attorneys, or foreign consulates. A list of stories collected from King County, WA, is
on page 30.

✚✚

Get Good Legal Advice: Lawyers can help you understand relevant state or federal laws
that apply to ICE hold requests and police practices in your community, as well as ensure that
you push for a policy that will truly meet your goals. Many lawyers think in terms of individual
legal remedies for their clients, not people power, communities, or values. Nonetheless, their
analytical skills and familiarity with the immigration and criminal justice systems may be
indispensable in your strategizing and negotiations. If you need help with the legal issues,
contact one of the organizations on page iii.

✚✚

Tackle Criminal Justice Issues: One of the hardest obstacles can be the tough-on-crime
mindset that holds sway in America today. A campaign to reject ICE hold requests is going to
involve defending people with criminal records. How are you going to talk about those people?
Endemic discrimination and unfairness in the criminal justice system should be an important
part of your analysis and public education. Almost certainly you will have to grapple with
assumptions and accusations that letting people out of jail means letting dangerous people out
on the street. How will you respond to that, and where does your coalition stand on it? There
are no easy answers, but if you want help or consultation, contact one of the organizations on
page iii.

✚✚

Frame Your Goals Clearly: Who are you trying to protect? Who will be covered under your
policy? If not everyone, why not? This discussion will help you identify the values involved, the
scope of your technical language, and your strategy about reaching your goal. The results of
your policy will depend on how you craft it. When you are struggling against immigration
enforcement in your community, there are a lot of issues, causes, and dynamics at play, which
can pull your coalition in different directions. You will need unity and mutual understanding of
your goals to succeed.

✚✚

Understand the Money Trail: In many jurisdictions, the argument that localities pay for
detaining people on ICE hold requests has a lot of power. Budgets are tight, and most people
agree that immigration enforcement is the federal government’s responsibility, regardless of
how they want it carried out. But money is fungible and the way that detention is counted can
be tricky. Local costs specifically for holding people for ICE could range from millions of dollars
to just a few hundred. It is likely that collaboration with ICE enforcement is costing your local
government a lot. However, coming up with documentation to prove this may be difficult and
you will likely have to ask local officials to determine the costs. More in-depth information
about costs, budgets, and reimbursements is on page 23.

STAGING YOUR CAMPAIGN	07

✚✚

Engage with Law Enforcement: One of the biggest challenges we face as advocates is
that police see federal law enforcement, and ICE, as allies and a source for mutual assistance.
Even police who do not want to be involved in immigration enforcement still routinely hold
inmates for ICE. But that is a decision that you can demand they change. Local law enforcement
are accountable to their own communities, not ICE, and they rely on local support to do their
job. Sheriffs are often elected officials; hold them accountable. Be ready to work with law
enforcement who often have very different perspectives and motives. Be careful that what you
ask from them is broad enough to achieve your goals, and don’t let them make meaningless
changes. But your local law enforcement leaders are an important place to begin your information gathering.

✚✚

Prepare for Media and Public Discourse: Develop a media strategy. This might be a
determination that you want to keep the process as quiet as possible. Or it might be a plan to
expose bad policies and the harmful effects that working with ICE has had. Don’t forget that ICE
itself has a powerful megaphone, so be ready with your responses. It can be very hard to know
the specific messages or media tactics that will work in advance, but suggestions, analyses, and
sample messaging advice is collected on pages 25-30.

✚✚

Seek Help From Those Who Have Done it Before: We see that recurring issues come
up in campaigns across the country. It is helpful to share experiences of others to show local
jurisdictions that they are not alone in addressing these issues. This toolkit includes an extensive appendix with sample materials, versions of legislation, and media and messaging advice
that can be a reference. For more insights or advice, contact one of the organizations found on
page iii.

✚✚

Build a Broad Based Coalition around Unified Principles: The more diverse and
numerous your allies, the more sway you will have, and the more you can build momentum.
Successful campaigns have found it particularly effective to agree upon a set of principles at the
outset to rally allies around while keeping a clear focus on the objectives of your campaign.

STAGING YOUR CAMPAIGN	08

PART 02

THE BASICS ON 
POLICE ICE COLLUSION
ESSENTIAL INFORMATION ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND CRIMINAL
LAW ENFORCEMENT IN YOUR COMMUNITY

POLICE
ICE

?
✚✚

All about ICE hold requests

✚✚

ICE involvement in the criminal justice process

✚✚

What are all these immigrant enforcement programs?

ALL ABOUT ICE HOLD REQUESTS
ICE increasingly relies on local law enforcement to find immigrants to deport. This is not
limited to regular street patrols, but includes jail operators, probation departments, and
similar municipal agencies. This makes it dangerous for immigrants, documented and
undocumented, to seek police assistance or protection and frequently impedes access other
basic public services. To make our communities safer, we need to sever ICE’s connections to
local and state agencies. Regardless of 287(g) or S-Comm, the broadest impact can come if
local law enforcement stop submitting to ICE hold requests.

What is an ICE hold request?
An ICE hold is a request from ICE to the
police to hold someone in jail so that ICE
can come get them.
ICE hold requests are also often called immigration detainers. We call them requests
to remind law enforcement that they are
optional.

The police will just keep me in jail until ICE
comes for me?
Holding the person is not mandatory, and it
cannot last indefinitely: if ICE does not come
within 48 hours of when the person otherwise
would have been released, they must be let go
anyway.

A few clarifications on ICE hold requests from the start
✚✚

ICE hold requests are not a public safety mechanism. They are not issued to keep people
charged with or convicted of certain crimes off the street. Bail determinations by criminal court
judges are the criminal justice system’s mechanism for keeping people who may be a flight risk
or pose a danger to public safety in jail while their case proceeds. ICE hold requests are purely
a tool for ICE to more easily apprehend immigrants.

✚✚

I CE hold requests are optional for local law enforcement. Submitting to an ICE hold request is
at the discretion of local law enforcement: the federal government cannot force police to
detain someone for them. An ICE hold is also called a detainer, but it should not be confused
with a criminal detainer. Criminal detainers, which are governed by the Interstate Agreement
on Detainers, are different; they are supported by a warrant and subject to the language of the
interstate agreement. ICE holds are requests, not supported by a warrant, and do not fall under
the Interstate Agreement on Detainers.

✚✚

ICE hold requests are not evidence that someone is deportable. In fact, they are not even evidence
that someone is not a citizen. There is no established standard of proof or probable cause
requirement for issuing an ICE hold request, and they have erroneously been placed on US citizens
as well as immigrants who are not deportable.

ICE regularly issues hold requests for any person booked into jail who may be potentially deportable,
regardless of the booking charge. This means that, for an undocumented person who is booked for a
minor offense that would normally result in just a few hours in jail, their arrest may instead lead to
months of detention followed by deportation.

THE BASICS	10

DETAILS ON ICE HOLD REQUESTS
In slightly more detail, a hold from ICE is a written request – NOT an order – to the criminal
justice agency to notify ICE before releasing the person named on the hold. When the
criminal system no longer has authority to detain that person – for example, because they
were granted bail, acquitted, or finished their sentence – the hold also requests that the local
jail or prison keep them in custody for an extra 48 hours (not counting weekends and federal
holidays) to give ICE an opportunity to pick them up.
Hold requests are the lynchpin of ICE’s programs that partner with state and local criminal law
enforcement agencies: Secure Communities, 287(g), and the Criminal Alien Program (CAP). These
information-sharing programs allow ICE to locate and identify noncitizens in criminal custody. The hold
requests are the practical tool that enables ICE to take individuals directly from criminal custody to
immigration detention.

Who can be detained on an ICE hold request?
Any immigration officer (including ICE, Border Patrol, or a 287(g) designated police officer) can
lodge a hold request against a noncitizen in police custody who is potentially deportable. A U.S.
citizen should not get a hold request, but ICE sometimes makes mistakes. In addition, a lawful
permanent resident who lacks a conviction that would make them deportable should not be
detained on an ICE hold request.

What kind of proof does ICE rely on to place a hold
Not much. ICE often uses place of birth information given by jails or in booking sheets as the basis
for placing a hold request on someone. The information ICE relies on can often be inaccurate.
Foreign birth, for example, does not necessarily mean someone is not a citizen. ICE has mistakenly
placed hold requests on US citizens or legal permanent residents who have the right to stay.
Increasingly, ICE uses fingerprint and other database information received through S-Comm to
place hold requests.

Can someone get an ICE hold request if they are not in Department
of Homeland Security databases?
Yes. ICE comes to many jails to question people who they suspect are immigrants. Under the
Criminal Alien Program, ICE forms all kinds of agreements with jails to get access to information
on the jails’ inmates and privileges to interview possible noncitizens. Even someone who has no
immigration record can be identified this way. Someone who has a foreign place of birth but does
not appear in DHS databases will likely be interviewed by a Criminal Alien Program officer to see if
they should place an ICE hold request. Someone who is not a citizen but does not have an ICE
hold request, and who is able to post bail or be released quickly, may get out of jail before being
identified by ICE.
Foreign place of birth is one of the primary pieces of information ICE seeks from localities in order to
place hold requests. This means that all of the instances in which your local law enforcement collect
place of birth information may be very important to know for your campaign.

Who has authority to issue ICE hold requests?
Under the federal regulations governing immigration detainers, all immigration officers have
authority to issue detainer requests. This includes ICE agents, Border Patrol agents, or 287(g)
designated officers. If Border Patrol issues a hold request, they will likely notify the ICE office,
and ICE will respond when the time comes.

THE BASICS	11

When does the hold request take effect?
An immigration officer may place a hold request on you at any point during your time in jail. But
the hold request is only activated once the state or local law enforcement agency's custody is
ended. So if you are in criminal custody after a lawful arrest, the ICE hold request doesn’t mean
anything until the state has no reason to hold you, such as: once you post bail, or are ordered
released on your own recognizance (free until your court date); when the charges against you are
dismissed; if you win your case and get ordered released; or when you complete your sentence,
including if you plead to a minor offense and are sentenced to “time served.” At that point, the
hold request operates as further authority to detain you for an extra 48 hours, not counting
weekends and federal holidays.

HOW ICE HOLD REQUESTS MIGHT APPLY TO YOU, AND WHAT YOU CAN DO
IF YOU HAVE ONE
What’s so bad about getting an ICE hold request if I’m already in jail?
Aside from prolonging your time in jail, ICE hold requests impact many other aspects of the
criminal justice process, such as:
✚✚

The hold request keeps you in jail so that ICE may come and deport you

✚✚

I f you are released while your criminal case is pending, you may end up in ICE custody and be unable
to attend your next hearing in criminal court, which can result in various penalties, sometimes a
felony failure to appear charge

✚✚

I CE hold requests lead some judges to set a high bail or no bail at all, possibly resulting in
detention by the criminal justice system all the way through trial

✚✚

S ometimes jails refuse to accept bail payment for someone with a hold request

✚✚

 old requests often limit access to treatment programs which could help you, and might also
H
allow you to demonstrate rehabilitation that could give you better chances in immigration court

✚✚

 n ICE hold request can prevent you from participating in work release or
A
alternative-to-incarceration programs if you are convicted

How can I avoid getting an ICE hold?
 ou can refuse to answer any questions while you’re in jail. You have the right to remain silent.
Y
You do not have to give your immigration status or place of birth to anyone, or sign any documents. ICE officers do not always identify themselves to you before questioning you about your
immigration status, so it can be important to ask for identification from someone who questions
you.
 uring booking, most jails will ask you your place of birth. If you can avoid answering this, it may
D
help prevent an ICE hold. However, refusing to answer booking questions may result in a judge
raising your bail amount or denying bail because you have not cooperated.

What can I do if I have an ICE hold request against me?
If you are no longer held based on criminal charges or serving a sentence, then the ICE hold
request may kick in to detain you for an additional 48 hours, not counting weekends and federal
holidays. Note that this section describes how criminal bail works in state systems; bail procedures and ICE hold requests are quite different in federal criminal court.
✚✚

 ave your criminal lawyer check to see if you are deportable. If you are not, a lawyer can contact ICE
H
and ask them to remove the hold request. ICE says it will pay special attention to cases where people
allege that they are a lawful permanent resident or a US citizen. ICE encourages US citizens or
victims of a crime who are subject to a detainer to call their hotline: (855) 448-6903.

THE BASICS	12

✚✚

I f you have a bail hearing and the judge or prosecutor uses an ICE hold request as evidence
against you, tell the judge that the hold does not mean that you are deportable, and does not
mean that you will fail to appear for trial if you are released. Give evidence of your ties to the
community, such as work, family, property, or other connections.

✚✚

I f you have been granted bail and have paid it, then the jail can only hold you for the 48-hour
period after you have paid, not including weekends and federal holidays. Even if ICE has not come
to pick you up, the jail must release you.

✚✚

I n some areas, people who are transferred to ICE detention before trial have significant difficulty
getting ICE to bring them back to criminal court for their hearing. Failure to appear at your
criminal trial can result in a warrant for your arrest and substantial penalties. For some
individuals, it may be preferable not to pay bail, and to remain in criminal custody than be
transferred to ICE detention.

When can I get out of jail if ICE doesn’t come?
After the 48 hour period, the hold expires. At that point:
✚✚

You have the right to be released and you can demand that the jail let you go.

✚✚

 ou can contact your criminal defense lawyer to let him/her know that you should be released and
Y
help you out.

✚✚

I f you are not released, you can file a letter with the jail advising them that they must follow the
48-hour rule. (A sample letter is in the appendix). You can also file a grievance with the jail.

✚✚

 ou can petition for a state or federal writ of habeas corpus against the facility holding you to get
Y
released. Be aware that sometimes, this may just result in ICE finally coming to take you into
custody. (Sometimes it is actually to your advantage to stay in criminal custody rather than
immigration detention, to have more time to find an attorney or collect important evidence before
you face deportation proceedings.)

✚✚

I f you are held illegally after the 48 hours expire (see 8 C.F.R. § 287.7), you can sue the jail for
damages for the harm resulting from your illegal imprisonment.

✚✚

I f you believe your jail routinely violates the 48-hour rule, contact the National Immigration Project
of the National Lawyers Guild or the local American Civil Liberties Union, or other advocates in
your area who might work on this issue. For contact information, see page iii.

THE BASICS	13

ICE INVOLVEMENT IN THE
CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROCESS
The criminal justice process varies from state to state, and the federal criminal justice
system has its own rules, procedures, and terms to describe the stages of the proceedings.
Generally speaking, however, a number of common procedures apply to someone arrested
for a crime.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROCESS
Arrest
What constitutes an arrest can be a complicated
question, but you are considered to be under
arrest if a reasonable person in your situation
would not feel free to leave. An arrest can be
made because of a warrant, or if law enforcement has probable cause to suspect you of a
committing a crime. Law enforcement generally
has power to arrest and bring you into jail based
on a warrant or probable cause. A temporary
“stop” is not the same thing as an arrest, and
only requires “reasonable suspicion” of a crime.
A traffic stop is not, by itself, an arrest.

ICE INVOLVEMENT
An arrest by law enforcement is the most
common way for ICE to find you. The arrest
brings you into the criminal justice process,
where ICE gets information from police
through several means.
Most local police do not have authority to arrest
purely for immigration purposes, but in many
areas, police have merely stopped motorists and
then called ICE to the roadside to interrogate
and arrest the person.
If the law enforcement agency has a 287(g)
task force agreement, certain officers may
have the power to arrest purely for civil
immigration violations.

Booking and Charges
Once you have been arrested, the state has
24-48 hours to charge you with a specific crime,
depending on the state. Law enforcement
officers may decide to file criminal charges
either before or after arresting you. Filing
charges allows law enforcement officers to keep
you in custody until further proceedings, such
as preliminary hearings, arraignment, and the
setting of bail.

Arraignment, Preliminary Hearings, and Bail
An arraignment is the formal presentation of
charges in open criminal court, and may include
an assessment of whether there is evidence to
proceed with the case at all. In many jurisdictions, bail setting or other pretrial release
conditions are decided at a preliminary hearing,
particularly for misdemeanors. In addition, the
defendant may be asked to plead guilty or not
guilty at this stage, and if a guilty plea is taken,
sentencing may take place as well.
At arraignment or a preliminary hearing, you
may be ordered released from criminal custody
for any of several reasons: the charges may be
dismissed, you may plead guilty but receive a
suspended sentence or time served, or you may
be ordered Released on Recognizance and thus
free until your trial date.

THE BASICS	14

You can be booked into jail and have
biographical and fingerprint information
collected from you, before you are ever
formally charged with a crime. This information may go to ICE, who can lodge a
hold request in as little as a few hours.
You may also be interviewed by ICE officers
who come to the jail, and who may issue a hold
request based on that interview. ICE agents may
or may not identify themselves as immigration
enforcement.

If you have an ICE hold against you, then
even if you are ordered released by the
judge, the jail will likely choose to continue to
hold you for an additional 48 hours. This does
not include weekends and federal
holidays, and ICE may come to pick you up.
Some courts set higher bail for those with
ICE hold requests, or they may deny bail
altogether. If you are given bail, you will be
returned to jail and the ICE hold will not take
effect until you pay the bail price.

…Continuation from previous page

CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROCESS
Pre-Trial Detention
If you are not granted bail, or are unable
or unwilling to pay it, then you will remain
in the jail until your trial, or until you have
negotiated a plea bargain, or other
resolution of your case. This may be a
short time, but can last for weeks or
months.

ICE INVOLVEMENT
While waiting in jail to see a judge or
awaiting trial, ICE agents may come to the
jail to interview you about your immigration
status, which may lead to a hold request.
They may seek you out because of information they received via S-Comm, the Criminal
Alien Program, 287(g), shared booking
sheets, or other tips from agents in the jail.
ICE officers or 287(g) officers may come to
question you about your status.
If ICE puts a hold on you while you are still
awaiting trial or serving a criminal sentence, the hold is not activated until your
criminal matter is entirely completed.

Plea or Trial
if you agree to plead guilty to the charges
against you, you give up the right to a trial
of the facts.
A sentence, fine, or other penalty is generally part of the agreement in a plea deal.
At trial, a judge or jury may determine your
sentence if you are convicted.

Pleading guilty to, or being convicted of, a
crime may make you deportable even if you
have lawful immigration status. It may also
prevent undocumented immigrants from
getting lawful status in the future. ICE often
tries to place holds early on in order to
track you through the criminal justice
process in case a conviction makes you
subject to possible deportation.

If You Serve a Jail Sentence
Even if you plead guilty or are convicted
of a crime, you may get your sentence
reduced once you begin serving it. You
may also qualify for work release or other
alternative programs. Toward the end of your
sentence, you may be released on parole,
which requires regular check-ins with a parole
officer, or other requirements.

THE BASICS	15

If ICE has not already placed a hold on you by
the time you are sentenced, an ICE officer in
state or federal prison may identify you during
your sentence.
In some states, an ICE hold makes you
ineligible for work release programs, drug
treatment programs, early release, or other
similar programs that help individuals
prepare to re-enter society. In many other
regions, court practice is to deny these,
even if no law specifies ineligibility.

WHAT ARE ALL THESE IMMIGRATION
ENFORCEMENT PROGRAMS?
Secure Communities (S-Comm)
S-Comm involves sharing fingerprints from local jails with ICE databases. Almost all jails take the
fingerprints of those they arrest and check them against national FBI databases. In the S-Comm
program, the prints also get sent to ICE’s civil immigration enforcement databases. If there is a
match in the fingerprints, that information will be sent both to the local jail and to the ICE field
office. This allows ICE to be notified every time any local police officers book into jail someone
who has an immigration history of any kind. ICE can place a hold request on anyone they wish
to apprehend who has been identified by the S-Comm data-sharing program. If someone does
not have a fingerprint match, ICE officers may go to the jail to see if the person is undocumented or otherwise deportable. To determine if S-Comm is operating in your locality, go to:
✚✚

http://www.ice.gov/doclib/secure-communities/pdf/sc-activated1.pdf.

The Criminal Alien Program (CAP)
The Criminal Alien Program operates in jails and prisons around the country. Under CAP, ICE
officers regularly call or come to the jail to interview inmates who they suspect may be deportable immigrants. The jail usually forms some kind of agreement – often informal – with ICE to
share all booking information with them, which may include agreements to let ICE use jail
computers and access local databases. Jail officers frequently call the ICE field office if they
believe they have a noncitizen suspect in the jail, and wish to do an individual check on that
person’s status. Additionally, CAP officers use S-Comm data and other information to identify
any possible noncitizens in the jail, so they can place an ICE hold request on them. In communities with large immigrant populations, CAP officers may visit the jail every day to interview
inmates, take people to immigration detention, or review jail information to find out if there are
any noncitizens they have missed.

The 287(g) program
The 287(g) program involves ICE training local police to enforce immigration law and carry out
certain immigration enforcement functions. In a few 287(g) programs, local police are deputized
to make arrests for immigration violations while on patrol in the streets. In the majority of
agreements, however, only officers inside the jail have any immigration authority. These local
police officers have power to conduct immigration interviews, enter information into ICE’s
ENFORCE database, file ICE hold requests, and issue Notices to Appear, which summon an
individual to immigration court for deportation hearings. See if your local jail or police force
operates a 287(g) program:
✚✚

http://www.ice.gov/news/library/factsheets/287g.htm#signed-moa.

What is the difference between these programs and an Immigration hold?
S-Comm is primarily an information sharing program. 287(g) and CAP also give ICE regular information about
immigrants in the custody of local law enforcement.
An ICE hold request is the result of identifying someone through that information sharing. An ICE hold request is
ICE's mechanism to apprehend the people identified through S-Comm and the other immigration programs. This
means even if S-Comm is not yet operating in your jurisdiction, you still could be detained on an ICE hold request.
Thus, rejecting ICE hold requests has the broadest impact against deportations because it targets all of these
programs.

THE BASICS	16

PART 03

INTO THE WEEDS

MORE STRATEGIC INFORMATION AND MATERIALS FOR A
CAMPAIGN TO REJECT A ICE HOLD REQUESTS

✚✚

Research and data collection

✚✚

Getting the financial aspects straight

✚✚

Messaging and media

✚✚

Analyzing a policy proposal

✚✚

S elected campaigns: New York, King County, New
Orleans, Santa Clara County

RESEARCH AND DATA COLLECTION
Gathering information is an essential preliminary step.
Some questions to consider include:
✚✚

What ICE ACCESS program, if any, is operating in your community?

✚✚

How quickly and where do ICE hold requests get lodged?

✚✚

What authorities control the different facilities?

✚✚

Which jail is the most common final point of custody for the local system?

✚✚

What does detention cost your town or county?

✚✚

 hat local or state laws may already constrain or require police involvement with
W
immigration enforcement?

✚✚

Does ICE come to take custody quickly or are people held beyond the lawful 48 hours?

✚✚

Which possible targets may be more sympathetic to your concerns?

✚✚

What agreements have your law enforcement made with ICE?

Selecting the right targets
Where do most people in your community get detained on an ICE hold? This can be a tricky
question that is an important part of your initial analysis. In many places, the answer is the
county jail, run by the Sheriff. Although ICE hold requests can be lodged against people held
in police stations or city lock-ups, in many jurisdictions the majority of arrestees who face trial
or serve a sentence will end up at the county facility before any transfer to ICE.
This question is critical because it means that the city council, or city government, may not
control policy over the jail, and the targets must be county-level officials. In contrast, some
cities do run their own jail, independent of county facilities. Whether county authorities
control city-level facilities, or whether city policies can affect county operations, may vary
considerably from place to place. This authority is an essential question for initial research,
because it will define your targets and direct your overall strategy.

	

Two Step Analysis:

✚✚

 here do most arrestees
W
end up before they are
released?

✚✚

Who controls that facility?

✚✚

Example: in Seattle, which is the seat of King County, WA, there is no city jail, and
people arrested by city police in Seattle are held at King County Jail. The King County
Sheriff will have power over releasing people from Seattle to ICE. However, the city of
Auburn, which is also in King County, has its own city jail, and individuals arrested by
city police will be held subject to the policies of the city council, not the county
council. So residents of Auburn could pass a city ordinance refusing to comply with ICE
hold requests, and this ordinance would govern their own jail, but not the King County
jail in neighboring Seattle. Residents of Seattle, to have much impact on ICE hold
requests, must seek policy that governs the Sheriff, at the county level.

✚✚

Example: The city of Boston is somewhat like Seattle, in that individuals arrested by
the Boston Police will be detained at the Nashua Street Jail, which is a Suffolk County
facility located in Boston. If they are convicted and serve a sentence of less than two
and half years, they will (in most cases) be held in South Bay House of Corrections, also
a Suffolk County facility. Boston City Council, therefore, does not manage the jails that
will make the majority of decisions about ICE hold requests for Boston residents. And
although Suffolk County has a Sheriff who runs the county detention facilities, there
are no county government or county-level legislative bodies in Massachusetts. Residents of Boston should therefore seek an administrative rule from the Sheriff about ICE
hold requests, or pursue state-level legislation, if they want to affect the majority of
decisions on compliance with ICE hold requests.

INTO THE WEEDS	18

Who has the power to make policy about ICE hold requests at
the city level?
Law enforcement reports to local government. Most towns have a municipal police
department that is accountable to a governing body or authority, a mayor or city council, for
example. It is often these governing bodies that create the rules that law enforcement must follow.
In addition, the city government will also control the police budget, which can be an important
wedge. But remember, every jurisdiction’s structure is different: the chart below examines common
authorities and powers of city government and law enforcement.

!

WARNING

!

REMEMBER these structures can be different in different places!

INFORMATION ABOUT CITY AUTHORITIES
TYPE OF POWER

Police Chief
›› P
 olice can make arrests, search,
and detain people

›› M
 ayor is generally in charge of
running a town or city

›› Chief is the head of city police

›› U
 sually manages local budgets
and oversees city agencies

›› A
 uthority over police practices,
training, and protocol
›› P
 olice usually manage the city
jail or hold rooms, where people
would be held during temporary
detention after arrest

JURISDICTION

›› H
 ighest authority for the local
(city) police department
›› N
 o jurisdiction over neighboring
towns
›› M
 ay detain people after arrest or
before trial

ELECTED OR APPOINTED

Mayor

›› P
 olice Chiefs are usually an
appointed position or reached by
promotion

›› M
 ay have managerial authority
to tell police or jails what to do
›› S
 ome towns have a City
Manager, which is similar to a
Mayor

›› M
 ayor is the chief executive of a
town or city, like the President,
but on a local level
›› U
 sually has power to pass
executive orders
›› D
 oes not have authority over
other towns

›› U
 sually elected by residents of
the city, but may be appointed
by a city council

City Council
›› C
 ity Council is a group of
officials with power to pass local
laws, often called ordinances
›› M
 ay also conduct oversight
hearings of the jail or police
›› L ikely has a subcommittee with
specific focus on police, public
safety, or immigration issues
›› I n some cities has power to
appoint the mayor or city
manager

›› C
 ity Council is usually the
legislative branch of city
government and can pass
ordinances governing the city
and city agencies
›› G
 enerally does not have power to
override county or state laws

›› C
 ouncil Members may be
elected at large or based on wards
or districts

*These agencies, officers, and authorities vary significantly from state to state*

INTO THE WEEDS	19

Who has the power to make policy about ICE hold requests at
the county level?
Sheriffs are likely to be primary targets in a campaign against ICE hold requests, because they
usually manage county jails. Sheriffs or county law enforcement often report to
county-level government, such as a county executive, or a county commission or board of
supervisors. Power over the sheriff’s budget can be an important avenue for establishing new
rules about ICE hold requests, if an independent rule is hard to obtain. This chart examines
common figures in county-level governance and law enforcement.

!

WARNING

!

REMEMBER these structures can be different in different places!

INFORMATION ABOUT COUNTY AUTHORITIES
TYPE OF POWER

Sheriff
›› S heriff often manages county

or regional jails
›› M ay have custody of both

pre-trial inmates and those
serving fairly short sentences
›› M ost Sheriffs and Sheriff

Deputies have arrest and
enforcement powers, but some
only run jails and don’t have
patrols

JURISDICTION

›› S heriffs are usually the

county-wide law enforcement
and jail authority
›› Usually have power to make

arrests and detain people
throughout the county

ELECTED OR APPOINTED

›› S heriffs are often elected by the

people of the county, but not
always

County Executive
›› Could have many different

names
›› L ikely controls county budget

or oversees county-wide
agencies
›› M ay have power to make a

county-wide executive order
›› Doesn’t exist in many states

›› G overns the whole county
›› M ay be the primary local

executive authority for small
towns without their own
council or mayor

County Council
›› A legislative body with power

to write county-wide laws and
pass budgets
›› Can call meetings and oversight

hearings or demand information
from law enforcement
›› S ome states have County

Boards, which are a similar
law-making body of elected
officials

›› A County Commission/Board/

Council passes county agency
budgets and other county laws
and regulations
›› G enerally a county law cannot

be overruled by a city-level law

›› M ay be elected or appointed

›› Usually elected by all the

residents of the county

Remember your secondary targets - those who may have indirect control over your targets. They can
weigh in with other decision makers, investigate the issue or request information, call for public
hearings, be important media resources, or otherwise help call attention to problems.

INTO THE WEEDS	20

Knowing how your police actually work:
In addition to knowing the city and county jail structures and procedures, another important
aspect in organizing against deportations is to understand how and where local law
enforcement and ICE share information, and how and when both police and ICE respond to
that information. Detailed understanding of the criminal process and local practices with
regard to ICE will help you identify proper goals and explain the issues to local leaders.
For example, in Massachusetts and Connecticut, probation departments interview people
about their case, sometimes even prior to arraignment or a bail hearing, and if the person is
not a citizen, the probation department reports them to ICE. (Concentrated advocacy in CT
achieved a change in this practice.) Like S-Comm and other information sharing programs,
the result of that communication from the probation department would in most cases be an
ICE hold, which if your campaign is successful, could be disregarded by the local Sheriff. But
it is good to be aware of all of the junctures where ICE finds out about people in your
community. Moreover, the better your understanding of policing and immigration enforcement in your community, the more prepared you will be to educate and inform policy
makers, and the more they will take you seriously.

Conflicting State and Federal Laws
Under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, the federal government cannot compel
state or local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration laws or do the federal government’s work. Of course, states and localities can choose to help, and the federal government
can create incentives for it. But this means that under the Tenth Amendment, the federal
government cannot require local and state law enforcement to hold people for ICE. Choosing
to detain people on ICE hold requests is a local decision. Nonetheless, some state and federal
laws do constrain the possible policies that local communities might want.

Federal law: 8 U.S.C. § 1373
This federal statute prohibits a state or local government entity from enacting a policy that
prohibits or restricts sharing information with ICE about a person’s immigration status. That
is, a city or state cannot pass a law prohibiting police from talking to ICE about someone’s
immigration status.
8 U.S.C. § 1373. Communication between government agencies and the Immigration
and Naturalization Service
(a) In General
Not with standing any other provision of Federal, State, or local law, a Federal, State, or local government entity or official may not prohibit, or in any way restrict, any government entity or official from
sending to, or receiving from, the Immigration and Naturalization Service information regarding the
citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual.

(b) Additional Authority of Government Entities
Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal, State, or local law, no person or agency may prohibit,
or in any way restrict, a Federal, State, or local government entity from doing any of the following with
respect to information regarding the immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual:
✚✚

Sending such information to, or requesting or receiving such information from,
the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

✚✚

Maintaining such information.

✚✚

Exchanging such information with any other Federal, State, or
local government entity.

INTO THE WEEDS	21

If you look carefully, you can see that ordinances passed against ICE holds in Chicago and Santa
Clara County do not conflict with this rule. To reject ICE hold requests is not to restrict sharing
of information. Not notifying ICE of someone’s release date or conviction limits sharing of
criminal history information, not immigration status.
In addition, many jurisdictions have passed policies forbidding law enforcement from asking
anyone about their immigration status. That way police, in theory, have no information to
report anyway, and the community does not run afoul of this statute. However, these policies
often overlook the implications of collecting place-of-birth information, which ICE uses to
target its enforcement efforts.

State Laws
States cannot be compelled by the federal government to help enforce immigration laws, but
they may try to pass laws requiring the sharing of information or other cooperation with ICE.
In 2010 and 2011, several states followed Arizona’s lead and passed sweeping immigration
enforcement laws, which have been challenged in the federal courts. While these laws have
received substantial public attention and caused intense battles over immigration policy, they
do not all necessarily prevent an individual community within the state from adopting a policy
to refuse ICE hold requests. Every community should look carefully at the language of governing state law and determine what options for protecting immigrants and public safety are available. For example, versions of the same “don’t-ask” policies that were passed to get around the
federal law 8 U.S.C. § 1373 may be a possible approach for communities in states with anti-immigrant legislation.
Aside from Arizona-type laws, many other states and localities have mandatory reporting
regimes or other specifications as to police collaboration with federal officials that must be
carefully assessed.
✚✚

E xample: Colorado SB 90, enacted in 2006. The first section of this Colorado statute mirrors
the federal law 8 U.S.C. § 1373, prohibiting Colorado communities from enacting any laws to
stop local police from communicating or cooperating with federal agents about someone’s
immigration status. The second section goes further, and actually requires, under Colorado
state authority, that law enforcement officers who have probable cause to believe someone
is unlawfully present must report that person to ICE.

Colorado SB 90. 29-29-103. Cooperation with federal officials regarding immigration status.
(1) No local government, whether acting through its governing body or by an initiative, referendum, or any other
process, shall enact any ordinance or policy that limits or prohibits a peace officer, local official, or local
government employee from communicating or cooperating with federal officials with regard to the
immigration status of any person within this state.
(2) (a) (i) A peace officer who has probable cause that an arrestee for a criminal offense is not legally present in
the United States shall report such arrestee to the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement office if
the arrestee is not held at a detention facility. If the arrestee is held at a detention facility and the county sheriff
reasonably believes that the arrestee is not legally present in the United States, the sheriff shall report such
arrestee to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement office.

 oes this statute mean that all law enforcement in Colorado must comply with ICE hold requests?
D
That may depend on what the phrase in the first section ‘cooperating with federal officials’ about a
person’s immigration status means. Arguably it means answering ICE’s questions and giving them any
information regarding immigration status that the officer received. Whether cooperation with regard
to immigration status means that Colorado must hold someone for ICE is not entirely clear. Nonetheless, such sweeping language could make changing local ICE hold policies a very uphill battle.
These analyses can be very complicated. Once again, it can be important to consult legal experts on
criminal and immigration issues in order to help you assess your options. You can call the organizations listed on page iii for help.
INTO THE WEEDS	22

GETTING THE FINANCIAL ASPECTS STRAIGHT
ICE does not generally reimburse local jails for the costs of hold requests. Any additional costs for
holding people for ICE after they have finished their sentence, or time in jail before trial because they
could not post bail due to an ICE hold request, come out of your local budget.
How do finances affect
the campaign?
Incarcerating people is expensive,
and your city or county leadership
may be very affected by information
that they are paying to do ICE’s job
for them, especially when localities
are facing tough budgeting issues.

How much do ICE hold requests cost?
The “daily bed cost” is an important term for calculating detention costs. This is generally the cost of
operating the jail, divided by the number of inmates each day, and is the common metric used for jail
costs of a single inmate.
✚✚

F or example, the daily bed cost - the cost of a single inmate for a single day - at Rikers
Island jail in New York City is estimated to be $170. This means that each day a single
person is held at Rikers on an ICE hold costs New York City $170.

✚✚

 ou might find this information in your county budget, in news articles, or from officials at
Y
the jail itself.

I f you can, find out how many people are detained on ICE hold requests in your jail per year,
or per month. That is – what kind of money are you really talking about? A thousand dollars?
A million?
✚✚

S ometimes the jail will give you this information, however, you may have to ask them
to gather it. Or this might require a Freedom of Information Act or Public Requests request.

✚✚

If you have good relations with a city or county council member, see if they will request it

✚✚

 eep in mind that if local judges regularly deny bail to people with ICE hold requests, who
K
would otherwise have been released before trial, those pre-trial days in jail are a very large
proportion of the costs of ICE hold requests to your local budget. Comparing days in
detention of immigrants with ICE hold requests to days in detention of citizens facing
similar charges will help you estimate these costs. For example, in Travis County, TX,
immigrants charged with the smallest misdemeanors spent an average of 50 days in jail,
where citizens charged with the same offense spent seven days.

✚✚

F or good detailed information on how ICE hold requests have been applied, and how that
affected time and costs in local jails, see the following links:
››

 ttp://www.justicestrategies.org/sites/default/files/publications/JusticeStrategies-DrugDeh
portations-PrelimFindings.pdf

››

http://immigrationforum.org/images/uploads/2011/Immigrants_in_Local_Jails.pdf

Find out what other financial interests may be at stake.
Does your jail have a contract to hold immigration detainees (also called an IGSA)?
If your jail has an Intergovernmental Service Agreement (IGSA) with ICE to hold immigration
detainees, then they may think that ICE will pay for people with ICE hold requests. This is not
technically correct. An ICE hold request does not mean that the person is in ICE custody, and
ICE has stated officially that they do not reimburse localities for the costs of hold requests.
However, IGSAs likely affect the jail’s incentives regarding immigrant detainees, because it is
easier to transfer custody, and jails usually make money by renting detention space to ICE.
 enting space to ICE is not the same as detaining someone on an ICE hold request. The jail
R
pays for detention until ICE formally takes custody of the detainee and then detains them at
the jail pursuant to the IGSA contract. You can find out which jails have contracts with ICE at
the following links:
››

http://www.ice.gov/detention-facilities/

››

http://www.ice.gov/foia/library/index.htm#35

INTO THE WEEDS	23

Does your community receive SCAAP funds?
T he State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) is a federal grant program that
reimburses states for money spent incarcerating undocumented immigrants. SCAAP funds do
not cover all detention of noncitizens. Eligibility is limited to costs incurred for detaining
undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of a felony or two misdemeanors and
served at least four days sentence in jail. The funds are allocated to state and county departments of corrections, according to how many undocumented immigrants were detained who
fit the statutory criteria. Most states get at least some SCAAP money, and want more of it.
 any corrections officials fear that reducing their cooperation with ICE could affect the amount
M
of money that the county would get under the SCAAP program. This is not unfounded, because
ICE has alluded to this possibility over the years. But there is no instance so far of a community
receiving less SCAAP funds because of a particular immigration-related policy they enacted. In
fact, the SCAAP program is administered by the Department of Justice, so it is unclear how
much influence ICE has over the grant decisions.
Counties often overestimate the extent of SCAAP funds.
✚✚

J ails only occasionally receive SCAAP money related ICE hold requests. The primary
detention cost being refunded is the time spent serving criminal sentences.

✚✚

E very county and state always applies for far more SCAAP reimbursements than they end up
receiving. Thus, most money spent on detention because of an ICE hold request will never be
reimbursed.

✚✚

Not submitting to ICE hold requests is still a cost-saving choice for the community.

Still other possible financial impacts:
What social services and child welfare costs result from coordination with ICE?
 any children whose parents or caretakers are detained or deported end up in the child
M
welfare system, at the expense of states and counties. The Applied Research Center conservatively estimated that more than 5000 children are in foster care because their parents have
been detained or deported. Assistance to ICE from law enforcement increases the local impact
on family services and child welfare programs.

Do you have examples of recent lawsuits related to detaining immigrants that have
cost your community?
 our town or county is liable for what happens to individuals detained on ICE hold requests.
Y
Particularly where law enforcement have detained individuals beyond the expiration of an ICE
hold request, lawsuits for unlawful detention have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. A
particular settlement in New York City had an impact on policy makers and was very helpful to
the local campaign to get ICE out of Rikers Island jail.
››

F or further details about lawsuits against localities arising from ICE hold request
violations, see: http://www.legalactioncenter.org/clearinghouse/litigation-issue-pages/
enforcement-detainers

What resources will it take to administer the policy you wish to propose?
F or example, King County in Washington state is concerned about not increasing work for jail
or county staff. This is based on practical details of jail operations: if the county is going to
change its decisions about ICE hold requests, they don’t want it to require new training or
additional work or data entry for their staff.

Watch out for detention bed contracts with the U.S. Marshals!
S ometimes Marshals contracts are also used to hold immigration detainees. This frequently
leads to confusion about detention costs and federal reimbursement. If your Sheriff tells you
that the jail is reimbursed for ICE holds, check whether the Sheriff is mistakenly confusing
ICE hold requests with temporary U.S. Marshals custody. There is currently no existing
mechanism or funding to reimburse counties for ICE hold requests.
INTO THE WEEDS	24

MESSAGING AND MEDIA
Remember :
Messaging doesn’t happen in a
vacuum. Assess your short- and
long-term goals and think about
messaging from the outset of your
campaign to ensure that the
messaging of one of your
campaigns doesn’t undermine
other current or potential future
campaigns on immigration
enforcement.

What is framing and messaging and why should my campaign
care about it?
Spending the time to agree with partners on your framing and messaging in the early
stages of your campaign can pay off in the end – with the media, other advocates, and the
general public. A common assessment of how immigration enforcement affects your
community and why you are engaged in this campaign will help steer you toward your
goal and keep your coalition focused. This preparation will also help you deal with harsh
media attention before, during, or after your goal – whether it is a policy or law – is
reached.
Messaging is most effective when you create your own framing and don’t just go along
with the premises of people who do not share your values and goals. Don’t accept the
assumptions of your opponents or of the status quo, but try to articulate your own vision.
You can then develop messaging that fits within your broader framing and is carefully
targeted to your audience, goals, and the constituents in your coalition.
We are really talking about developing the lens through which people will process the
information that your campaign presents and the messages that will support your
demands. The main idea behind framing is that people aren’t blank slates. They perceive
the facts and stories of our campaigns through their perceptions and expectations about
how the world works.
✚✚

What questions are currently being asked about your issue?

✚✚

What new questions do you want to ask about your issue?

A first step to developing your framing is to identify the other framing that is already
around you. What underlying assumptions and values are already a major part of the
immigration enforcement discussion? Are they helpful or hurtful? What is your opponents’
frame? What aspects of it do you need to counter? Given what your audience already
hears or believes are the problems, what goals or values can you share with them? How
can your vision respond to that without caving to their framing?

Examples of framing
✚✚

Immigration enforcement destroys communities.

This is about family ties, human dignity, local economies, and liberty rights. Holistic local law
enforcement that shares these values should protect immigrant communities.
✚✚

Deportation is a cruel punishment that should be abolished.

This is about standing against injustice, bringing attention to the pain of deportation, and the
unfairness of the law.
✚✚

We are defending immigrants' Right to Remain.

This approach (originally from New Orleans) spotlights the individuality and leadership of immigrants
and their stake in the whole community.

These frames aren’t single messages or demands; they are visions of how things should be
understood. Your messages will then support this framing. Your strongest messages will
invoke shared values and focus on the solution or goal you have in mind.

INTO THE WEEDS	25

Sample message ideas
There is no unified messaging across the board in campaigns against submitting to ICE hold
requests. The local politics of campaigns vary; we have all developed different frames and
different approaches. Nevertheless, some messages that have been frequently used in
different campaigns have focused on different combinations of the following values and
ideas:
✚✚

Public Safety: Police-ICE collaboration creates mistrust within the community

✚✚

 egative Community Impacts: Police helping ICE find people to deport separates
N
families and destroys communities

✚✚

Fiscal Impact: Helping ICE deport people drains resources with little reimbursement

✚✚

Faith Perspective: It’s essential to respect the dignity and humanity of all residents
regardless of immigration status

✚✚

Racial Profiling: Using the criminal justice system as a gateway to immigration
enforcement is piling on to an unjust system

✚✚

E qual Rights and Due Process: ICE hold requests undermine the right to due process and
result in unfair treatment for immigrants in the criminal justice system

✚✚

Local Autonomy: ICE is not accountable to communities; communities should make their
own choices

✚✚

 alue of Immigrants to Society: Immigrants contribute to local economies and provide
V
needed services

General talking points:
Police Depend on Community Trust and Involvement: When local law enforcement are
functionally agents of immigration enforcement, immigrants are deterred from reporting
crimes, which reduces public safety in the entire community. Citizens who have immigrant
or undocumented family members are also more hesitant to contact the police or other
authorities.

Immigration Enforcement is Separate from Criminal Justice: For every individual
booked into custody on criminal charges, the courts impose and oversee appropriate
punishment. The criminal justice system has adequate safeguards to protect public safety
and those safeguards will remain in place. A policy against ICE hold requests does not
release anyone into the community who is not otherwise eligible to be released. Inmates
are only released from custody once they have served their time and have earned their
freedom.

ICE Hold Requests Do Not Relate to National Security: The FBI, CIA, the Department of
Homeland Security, and our local police have many ways to guard our national security - all
of which has nothing to do with ICE hold requests. Our immigration enforcement technology programs haven’t caught terrorists; traditional law enforcement has. Hold requests are
simply a convenience for ICE.

We Shouldn’t Do ICE’s Job for Them: Whether you generally oppose deportations or not,
it is not the job of local governments to achieve the federal government’s immigration
enforcement ends.

Deportations Harm the Entire Community: When someone is deported, children are left
without a parent, an employer is left without work done, a landlord is left without a rent
check, and the community is left to pick up the pieces.

For more sample materials, see the Appendix

INTO THE WEEDS	26

What are the advantages and trade-offs with different messaging?
Most messaging has pros and cons, including how it resonates with different audiences and
how it impacts your future work. Here are just a few examples of the pros and cons we have
seen in some of the messaging that has been used in ICE hold request campaigns. This is far
from an exhaustive list, but we thought it might help you get started in determining what you
may be gaining and giving up with different messaging.

Message

Pros

Focus on innocence or those with
minor convictions:

›› H ighlights critical problem that seems

›› “ Low-level offenders and people who

›› Resonates with public

fundamentally unfair

are innocent get caught up in these
enforcement programs”

Cons
›› Creates a distinction between

“deserving” and “undeserving”
immigrants
›› U ndermines campaigns focused on

those with more serious convictions

›› “ ICE is not focusing on “Level 1”

criminals or the ‘worst of the worst’”

Deportation as second punishment:
›› “ People who have been through the

criminal justice system don’t deserve
deportation as a second punishment”

Potential for error:
›› “ US Citizens and green card holders

without deportable offenses get
caught up”

›› H ighlights unfairness of singling out

immigrants for additional punishment
›› L inks criminal justice system to deportation

system and may increase allies working on
criminal justice issues

›› Calls attention to immigrants who do

have criminal convictions
›› M ight not resonate with some

politicians

›› B rings attention to groups that are

›› Privileges certain groups of immigrants

typically thought of as having/
deserving more rights

›› S uggests that programs wouldn’t be as

›› Fact that programs aren’t working as

problematic if they did work as
advertised

advertised

Diversion of resources from criminal
justice system:

›› H ighlights significant costs and public

›› “ ICE intervention in local policing

›› Can resonate with law enforcement

safety concerns

diverts law enforcement resources
from focusing on serious criminals”

›› M any communities are already

over-surveilled and policed
›› L ikely lose allies who fight against the

criminal justice system
›› Can undermine campaigns that include

people with convictions

Costs:
›› “ Local police involvement in

›› E specially in current economic climate,

money matters

›› What if submitting to ICE hold requests

didn’t cost communities money?

immigration enforcement is costly to
communities and drains local
resources”

›› Resonates with local politicians

›› Focuses away from moral issues

Unequal treatment in the criminal
justice system:

›› H ighlights problem that seems

›› M ight be too technical for many people

›› “ Immigrants in jail don’t get the same

›› L inks to criminal justice issues that

rights or opportunities - such as bail
and treatment programs”

fundamentally unfair

might gain allies

›› S ome people believe noncitizens

should be treated differently in the
criminal justice system

Helpful statements from supporters and community leaders
“In America, we don’t detain people without probable cause that would violate constitutional guarantees like due process and equal protection. But these detainers
are not based on probable cause and they have been imposed on US citizens
including veterans by mistake.”
- Commissioner Jesús García, Cook County Illinois, Sep. 7, 2011

“What this policy does is ensure that everyone in our system is treated equally.
United States citizens charged with crimes are released on bail every day. There is
no justifiable reason to treat people’s criminal cases differently just because they
are suspected of having civil immigration issues. The county has no authority to
enforce civil immigration laws. Immigration enforcement is ICE’s job.”
- Supervisor Shirakawa, Santa Clara County, CA , Mercury News Op-Ed, Nov. 4, 2011

“What we are saying in this legislation is we want to maintain the bright line between what federal immigration officials do and what our local department does.
We have worked for years to ensure that there is such a bright line.”
Washington DC City Council Member Jim Graham, Washington Times, Nov. 15, 2011

“The policy has no impact on how the county deals with crime. For every individual
booked into county custody on criminal charges, the courts impose and oversee
appropriate punishment. The criminal justice system has adequate safeguards to
protect public safety, and those safeguards will remain in place.”
- Supervisor Shirakawa, Santa Clara County, CA, Mercury News Op-Ed, Nov. 4, 2011

“What isn’t fair, or effective, is to use immigration status as a red herring, when this is
an issue about public safety for all Cook County residents.”
- Cook County Council President Toni Preckwinkle, NBC Chicago, Jan. 12, 2012

“What the board is saying is that whether you are held in jail or not should only be a
function of whether you committed a crime or not. It shouldn’t be a function of
whether you have legal or illegal status in the community.’’
- Santa Clara County Executive Jeff Smith, Mercury News, Oct. 25, 2011

INTO THE WEEDS	28

Oppositional messages from adversaries
“My office is prosecuting several recent cases concerning undocumented individuals
from countries as diverse as India, Mexico and the Czech Republic. One defendant
was charged with rape, another threatened a female prosecutor and her family, and
another molested a child. Once criminals have committed these types of violent
offenses, studies demonstrate they are more likely to victimize again. We cannot
justify allowing any undocumented violent felon to be freed if we have the ability to
detain them longer so that the federal government can determine whether to
begin deportation proceedings.”
- Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen, Mercury News, Oct. 29, 2011

“The Ordinance disrupts the federal government’s efforts to remove deportable
criminal offenders from the country and instead allows for their release back into
the community. In light of criminal recidivism rates, the release of so many of these
individuals to the streets of Cook County is deeply troubling and directly undermines public safety.”
- John Morton, ICE in a letter to Cook County, IL, Jan. 4, 2012

“This is our Willie Horton moment in Cook County,” warned Commissioner Timothy
Schneider, a Republican who voted against it. He was referring to a convicted killer
who was released as part of a Massachusetts prison furlough program and then
raped a woman.
- Huffington Post, Cook County Defies Government on Immigration Detainers, Oct. 5, 2011

“Chicago politics didn’t kill William “Dennis” McCann. What killed the 66-year-old
man was that black Dodge Neon driven by an alleged drunken driver as McCann
walked across Kedzie Avenue last summer. But the politicians allowed the man
charged in the fatal crash to skip out of jail despite pleas by federal authorities to
hold him. Thanks to Chicago politicians, the alleged drunken driver is most likely
hiding in Mexico.”
- John Kass, Chicago Tribune, Jan. 12, 2012

“The action taken by the Board of Supervisors does not allow us the latitude to make
a decision in the best interest of public safety. If a person has been convicted of a
serious or violent felony, they should remain in jail.”
- Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith, Mercury News, Oct. 23, 2011

“If this policy goes into effect and stays on the books, someone will have blood on
their hands,’’
- Bob Dane, Federation for American Immigration Reform

If you seek more guidance on messaging and how to think about the framework of your campaign, check
out the Center for Media Justice, which provides an excellent library of storytelling and messaging guides,
worksheets, and examples. www.centerformediajustice.org

INTO THE WEEDS	29

Community Case Stories from King County, Washington
The below are sample case stories that illustrate the ramifications that detainer policy has
on our community members every day. They contain aspects of cases lawyers in King County see on a regular basis. However, the case of Maria is the all-too-real experience of a
domestic violence survivor who had her life was dramatically altered due to an ICE hold
request, and GC is a case of a man that is currently in the Tacoma Detention Center—as you
can see, detainer reform is urgent.
✚✚

M aria entered the U.S. in 2005 to join her boyfriend, Dario, a resident of Seattle whom she had
met in her native Colombia. He turned out to be an abusive alcoholic, and for the next five
years, Maria suffered his abuse while working full time without pay for his construction
company. In January 2011, Maria told Dario she wanted to leave him, and enraged, he choked
her to the point of unconsciousness. Two weeks later, on February 17, 2011, she came home to
find Dario and his family members throwing out her belongings and demanding that she
leave. She refused, and Dario called the police. She was unable to communicate effectively
with the responding officer due to a language barrier. The police handcuffed and arrested her.
Maria was taken to the King County jail. ICE’s records show that they were alerted to her arrest
on that same day. She was arraigned the next day, and the judge granted the defense’s motion
for her release. Presumably due to an ICE hold, she was held over the weekend, and on
February 22, 2011, she was interviewed by an ICE officer pursuant to the Criminal Alien
Program, and released to ICE custody. She bonded out of ICE custody a week later after
borrowing money from friends. She was left homeless and penniless, and remains so. With the
help of a domestic violence advocate from Consejo Counseling and Referral Services, she
reported Dario’s assaults against her in August of 2011. The Seattle Police Department signed a
U visa certification for her on November 10, 2011. Removal proceedings are still pending
against her.

✚✚

G C is a father of two U.S. citizen children who has lived in the U.S. for over ten years. GC was
arrested late in October by the Seattle Police Department on suspicion of a misdemeanor
assault and was booked into the King County Jail. The Seattle City Attorney reviewed the case
and within a day decided that no charges would be brought. Because the criminal case had
ended, GC should have been released but, because ICE had placed a detainer on him, he
stayed in custody for an additional 24 hours and was taken to the Northwest Detention Center
in Tacoma. He is now facing deportation proceedings, as his family tries to cope with the loss
of the income he provided to the family.

✚✚

M irabela was an undocumented domestic violence survivor from Peru with two small US
citizen children. She was booked into jail charged with misdemeanor assault-DV. Despite the
fact that she was the victim in the case, she was arrested. She was interviewed by ICE
telephonically at or near time of booking and ICE placed an immigration detainer on her.
Following her arraignment, her partner (the abuser) posted her $250 bail amount. Her release
on bail triggered the ICE detainer and she was transferred to ICE custody and deported.

✚✚

D avid is a 35-year-old man from Mexico who was arrested and charged with reckless driving.
He has been in the U.S. for 13 years and is the father and primary economic support for his
wife and three U.S. citizen children ages 12, 10 and 9. An ICE hold request was issued against
him and, in addition to immediate transfer to ICE to face deportation, he risks losing his job as
a construction worker because he cannot get out of jail during his criminal proceedings.

✚✚

I brahim is a 19-year-old Somali man who was arrested and booked into jail on felony charges
of taking a motor vehicle without permission (Class C felony). He came to the U.S. as a refugee
with his mother. His father and older siblings were killed in the political violence that had
caused them to flee to Kenya. Convicted of petty theft the previous year, he now has an ICE
detainer placed on him. Thus, he cannot get released on bail and is forced to remain in jail for
the duration of his criminal proceedings (several months). This makes it much more difficult to
defend against his criminal charges and costs the county significantly more money. Family
members had been prepared to post his bail money, but did not do so when informed that
this would result in his immediate transfer to ICE custody.

INTO THE WEEDS	30

ANALYZING A POLICY PROPOSAL
Elements of an ICE hold policy
The goal is to stop submitting to ICE hold requests, so that local police do not function as arms of
ICE. For that, you need a local law or policy restricting the way your jail works with ICE. There are a
lot of details in the relationship between ICE and local law enforcement, so this chart tries to help
identify different pieces that you may want to put in your policy demands. You don’t have to win
every single one, but the more you include, the more you are protecting the community.
There are two general categories to think about in stopping the police from turning people over
to ICE:
✚✚

 revent or limit ICE’s access to information from the jail, so that ICE will issue fewer hold requests and
P
apprehend fewer immigrants

✚✚

Limit or forbid the police’s submission to ICE hold requests or other ICE demands

Stop complying with ICE hold requests and limit
their impact

Prevent or limit ICE hold requests from being
lodged

›› D on’t submit to ICE hold requests

›› Don’t send booking information to ICE

›› D on’t use local resources to hold people for ICE

›› E stablish a policy to prevent all local agents

›› R equire notice of an ICE hold request, or ICE

interview request, to detainees and their
attorneys --including when and by whom it was
filed so that it can potentially be contested
›› D on’t give ICE notice of when immigrants are

to be released
›› D on’t comply with ICE hold requests for

juveniles
›› M ake an explicit rule that ICE hold requests

should not affect bail determinations
›› M ake an explicit rule that inmates with ICE hold

requests are still eligible for early release, work
release, treatment programs, and other
alternative-to-incarceration programs
›› R equire training on ICE hold requests and their

legal limitations for police and jail personnel
›› At booking, inform all detainees of the right to

contact their consulate (under the Vienna
Convention)
›› Provide know-your-rights materials in jails and

require law enforcement to provide information
to inmates about ICE hold requests so that
detainees can advocate for themselves
›› E stablish a written complaint and review

process for violations
›› D o not submit to ICE hold requests without

lawful underlying criminal charges

INTO THE WEEDS	31

from asking about immigration status (“don’t
ask policy”)
›› D on’t collect information about immigration

status or place of birth
›› Stop ICE agents from interviewing

inmates. [Alternative: Constrain interviews by
requiring agents to identify themselves as ICE
agents, obtain written consent, and ensure access to
counsel; inform inmates that they have the right to
decline the interview, etc.]
›› L imit ICE agents’ access to local databases
›› Stop probation and parole departments from

inquiring into immigration status
›› Prevent sharing of fingerprints beyond designated

recipients. Alternative: don’t take fingerprints for
minor offenses if state law allows
›› C hange booking procedures to eliminate

place-of-birth information
›› Accept alternative ID other than drivers’

licenses, so that traffic stops are less likely to
lead to ICE hold requests and deportations
›› End local 287(g) program
›› Improve racial profiling trainings
›› M ake an explicit rule against law enforcement

calling ICE or Border Patrol from the roadside
›› Forbid ICE from waiting at the courthouse

Evaluating outcomes of different types of policies
Submitting to ICE hold requests is not necessarily an all-or-nothing decision. The city or
county could decide to hold some categories of people, but not others, or decide to impose
conditions on ICE before agreeing to hold people. But different rules will lead to different
outcomes – which means that some policies will not protect all noncitizens. It can help to
compare different versions to see how the maximum number of people can be protected.

MORE PROTECTIVE
Washington, DC

Cook County, IL

Santa Clara County, CA

Washington, DC (proposed)

Cook County, IL (passed)

Santa Clara County, CA (passed)

If there’s a hold and the federal government will pay for detention, then the
District may comply for some of those
with convictions.

If there’s a hold request and the federal
government will cover the cost, then the
Sheriff will comply.

If there’s a hold request and the federal
government will cover the cost, then the
Sheriff might comply for some of those
with convictions.

Pros: Requires federal reimburse-

discretion. Puts burden on federal
government. Doesn’t draw lines between
criminal and non-criminal.

ment before any compliance. Limits
pre-conviction compliance with ICE hold
requests. Should reduce immigration
consequences of traffic stops.

Cons: Many people arrested in DC may be
transferred to Bureau of Prisons custody
where this will not apply.

Pros: Simple solution. Bright line rule. No

Cons: May compel sheriff to comply with
all detainers, if the federal government
agrees to reimburse, which would yield
very similar result to the status quo. This
policy did actually result in an offer from
ICE to pay for some hold requests.

Pros: Simple no hold rule unless
federal reimbursement. May save
thousands of dollars year. Special protection of juveniles.

Cons: Potential political implications
based on public misconception that
noncompliance with detainer requests
means “soft on crime.”

LESS PROTECTIVE
Taos, NM

New York, NY

San Francisco, CA

Taos, NM (jail policy)

New York, NY (passed)

San Francisco, CA (passed)

No asking about place of birth or
country of origin. No phone interviews from ICE without a court order.
Police will only comply with ICE holds
for an imate with a conviction for a
felony or two misdemeanors.

If there’s a hold request on someone
with a conviction for a misdemeanor
or felony, the Dept. of Correction will
comply.

If there’s a hold request on someone
charged with certain misdemeanors
or any felonies, then the Sheriff will
comply.

Pros: Limits some holds on those who

Pros: Should reduce immigration

have no conviction. May protect
immigrants who end up with convictions
for minor offenses.

consequences of traffic stops and
other infractions or low level
misdemeanors.

Cons: Jail will specifically look up the

Cons: Has broad categories for

person's criminal and immigration record
and will comply with many ICE holds for
those who have a record or face pending
charges.

complying with ICE holds, including
individuals who have only been charged,
but not convicted, of a crime.

Pros: Includes a ban on collectiong
place-of-birth information which often
leads ICE to place holds.

Cons: Is jail policy, but not law.
Limits holds to detainees eligible for
SCAAP funds, but no guarantee of
getting that money. Still allows police
to hand people over to ICE.

INTO THE WEEDS	32

CAMPAIGN STORY: NEW YORK, NY
Contributed by Michelle Fei, Immigrant Defense Project
The ICE Out of Rikers Coalition began in 2009, when various groups began hearing more stories
of ICE officers engaging in coercive and deceptive tactics and more immigrants getting
transferred to ICE and deported. ICE’s practices included failing to identify themselves as ICE by
wearing plainclothes, and manipulating immigrants who exercised their right to remain silent
by threatening to deport their families. The New York City Department of Correction also
appeared to be facilitating these tactics (for example, by informing immigrants who ICE wanted
to interview that they had “legal visits”) and refusing to release immigrants after ICE hold
requests had expired, in violation of the 48-hour rule. The Coalition, which included law school
clinics, immigration advocates, criminal defender offices, and faith leaders, gathered to
respond. By that time, the New York University School of Law’s Immigrant Rights Clinic had
already secured a settlement against DOC for a violation of the 48-hour rule through a Sec. 1983
action. This settlement, in which the Clinic won $145,000 for its client who had ultimately been
deported, seemed to have a significant impact on DOC.

What key lessons would you pass onto others?
Although keeping the Coalition small helped streamline decision-making and the ability of
Coalition members to act quickly, a broader range of groups with varied experiences might
have brought perspectives that would benefit both the goal of limiting compliance with ICE
hold requests and the longer-term struggle to protect the rights of all immigrants. For example,
domestic violence and trafficking advocates might have been able to better bring forward the
voices of survivors who have criminal records, to challenge the dominant narrative about
“victims” as “deserving immigrants” versus “criminals” as “undeserving immigrants.”

What were your strategies and tactics? What resources and tools were the
most helpful?
✚✚

 ur goal was to limit ICE’s presence and impact in New York City. The campaign took on two tracks:
O
passing legislation to limit compliance with ICE hold requests, and arming immigrants with
information to help them better fight deportation.

✚✚

T actics included public records requests, negotiations with DOC officials, advocacy with elected
officials, and media work. The 1983 action that the Immigrant Rights Clinic brought seemed to be
very effective in getting DOC’s attention and encouraging the agency to work with advocates.

✚✚

T he information the Coalition was able to gather – through public records requests and directly
from immigrants through Know-Your-Rights workshops – was immensely useful in helping the
Coalition understand what the landscape looked like, how policies and practices were being
carried out on the ground, and what possibilities there were for changing these policies and
practices.

Overall, what’s your assessment of your efforts?
As the campaign developed, the decision was made to propose legislation that limited
submitting to hold requests for all immigrants except those with violent felony convictions.
Within the Coalition, some felt that proposing legislation that excluded those with serious
felonies, and focusing the messaging on innocent immigrants and those with very low level
convictions, was the only way any legislation would get passed. They felt that politicians would
not respond to broader messaging and that it was important to secure a victory for immigrants
in this difficult political landscape. Others felt that starting with a compromise position and
using messaging that excluded many of the people our Coalition represented would result in
legislation that was too limited and could potentially hurt future campaigns. Those advocates
thought politicians and the public could be moved to take a broader stance with different
messaging and tactics.

INTO THE WEEDS	33

In the end, everyone in the Coalition acknowledged that we had won a limited victory and
agreed to message it in a way that would hopefully support future campaigns.
Even though the legislation that was passed did not go as far as the Coalition had hoped,
there were also other positive developments in policies and practices within Rikers. ICE
officers now wear ICE uniforms. Two groups have regular access to conduct Know-YourRights workshops with immigrants in Rikers. All immigrants now get to choose whether or
not to speak with an ICE officer by signing a form before having any contact with ICE, and a
video is being created to help alert immigrants to their rights. At the same time, these
changes have not been memorialized in writing. And refusing to speak with ICE does not prevent hold requests from getting lodged against immigrants at Rikers.

Messaging Insights from New York City
Messaging turned out to be a challenging issue for ICE Out of Rikers Campaign. Although the
legislative language initially offered to City Council aimed to protect immigrants except for those
with violent felony convictions, the dominant messaging that ended up being utilized in this
Campaign emphasized the unfairness of funneling innocent people into the deportation system. This
messaging was consistent with that of many other advocates who have decried the skyrocketing
enforcement across the country. It also resonated well with elected officials. This approach, however,
excluded (sometimes implicitly) people with criminal records from protection against deportation.
Because the messaging suggested that people with criminal convictions did not fit within the class
of people who should be protected, it became difficult for some Coalition members to support the
legislation. Some Coalition members felt that more inclusive messaging focused on the unfairness of
both the criminal justice and deportation systems, rather than the more narrow issue of the rights of
innocent immigrants, could have better reflected many of our values and might have created a path
for broader legislation.
As negotiations with City Council progressed, the class of immigrants to be protected by the
legislation became more limited. In the end, the public messaging employed matched the legislation
that was passed in late 2011: immigrants without convictions (or prior deportation orders) would not
be turned over to ICE. While encouraged that some immigrants would be protected under this new
law, the Coalition agreed to message this victory as a first step and to call for more work to be done
to better protect more immigrants.

INTO THE WEEDS	34

CAMPAIGN STORY: KING COUNTY, WA	
Contributed by Ann Benson, Washington Defenders' Association
In early 2011, the Washington Immigrant Rights Coalition (WIRC), a statewide coalition of immigrant
advocacy, faith, labor and social justice organizations, began educating its members to understand the
issues related to ICE hold requests and how they worked in the criminal justice system. The goal was to
begin expanding and transitioning the organizing efforts that had grown out of opposition to Secure
Communities. In the spring, WIRC determined that King County (Seattle) was the most favorable place to
push for a policy limiting compliance with ICE hold requests by the King County Jail. (NOTE: King County
jail is not controlled by the sheriff, but rather is under the authority of the King County Executive.) WIRC
coalition members felt that a victory in King County could be leveraged in other counties and, given this
is where it seemed most politically viable, it afforded the best opportunity for the coalition to begin its
efforts.
The King County campaign is still underway. The King County Executive has expressed some support for a
policy at the King County jail that would limit the jail’s compliance with ICE hold requests. The WIRC
advocacy team has been working with the county’s senior policy staff to educate them on the issues and
coordinate possible strategies. The WIRC advocacy team is presently exploring other county council members who may be willing to support this effort and meeting with other key local elected officials. Assuming there is sufficient support (and opposition can be overcome), it is unclear at this point whether the
effort will result in a full ordinance (that could be passed by the county council) or an executive order.

What were/are your strategies and tactics and the factors that
influenced decisions about them?
✚✚

✚✚

 ur primary goal is to get a policy in place that would restrict King County jail’s compliance with ICE hold
O
requests in as many types of cases as is realistically possible. (See Section I.a of the draft ordinance).
››

 e specifically opted for a policy that had a “carve out” for serious and violent felons, whom the county
W
would still detain for ICE. We did not believe it would be politically feasible here to push for the more
expansive ban included in the Cook County policy. The county executive’s staff indicated as much
(without prompting) in initial meetings.

››

 lthough the draft policy has the carve out, the burden is on ICE to provide proof of the prior
A
convictions, in order for the jail to comply with a hold request.

››

 e successfully engaged the jail administrator directly as we were crafting language, because it was
W
clear that nothing would move forward if the jail itself did not sign off on the policy.

 ur second goal is to limit ICE’s access to detainees in the jail. (See Section II, which is not in the current draft
O
under negotiations).
››

 e focused on the more limited language contained in our ordinance (vs. Santa Clara or Cook County’s
W
language restricting communications, use of resources, etc.) because we felt that this was the best,
cleanest shot we had at preventing ICE from getting new information regarding an individual in
custody. Additionally, it does not raise issues relating to 8 U.S.C. § 1373.

What resources and tools have been the most helpful?
✚✚

The established relationships with elected officials by members of the advocacy team;

✚✚

The combined immigration and criminal justice expertise of the advocacy team;

✚✚

The organizing capacity and base of OneAmerica.

What key lessons would you pass onto others?
✚✚

This takes time and significant, sustained effort.

✚✚

T his kind of effort reflects a perfect blend of political advocacy & organizing and legal advocacy. It is key to
have trust in a cohesive leadership team that has expertise in both arenas.

✚✚

I f possible, maintain control over the drafting of the ordinance/policy language to the extent possible. Give
careful attention to determining the language of a proposed ordinance that will work in light of a realistic
assessment of factors influencing your effort.
INTO THE WEEDS	35

CAMPAIGN STORY: NEW ORLEANS, LA
Contributed by J.J. Rosenbaum and Jacinta Gonzales, New Orleans Worker Center for Racial
Justice
The Congress of Day Laborers in New Orleans is leading a campaign to win the right to
remain - the right of women, youth, workers, and families to be permanent community
members in the city they helped rebuild.
The Congress of Day Laborers is a membership organization of reconstruction workers,
women, and their families fighting for dignity and the Right to Remain. The Congress was
formed by the community to defend itself against brutal exploitation and abuse at the
hands of employers, the police, and Immigration authorities, and to ensure that all of New
Orleans is united for a just reconstruction.
Through this campaign, immigrant reconstruction workers in New Orleans are doing more
than asking Sheriff Gusman for policy not to submit to hold requests from ICE, they are
asking fundamental questions about community. Can a local community decide who is
woven into its fabric? Can the people of New Orleans, in attempting to determine their
own local destiny, decide that immigrant workers are permanent members of the city they
helped to rebuild? Or should immigrants live in constant terror of being removed? Should
fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, neighbors and fellow parishioners, live each day
as if it was their last in the community they love? More than five years after they arrived in
New Orleans as reconstruction workers, members of the Congress of Day Laborers see the
Right to Remain campaign as a way to defend their own place in the city they now call
home.
Led by affected immigrant community members, the Right to Remain campaign has also
focused on building strong and collaborative relationships with other organizations
fighting abuse of power by the New Orleans Police Department and the Sheriff’s Office. The
Congress of Day Laborers is part of the Orleans Parish Prison Reform Coalition, which
includes over 40 local organizations and individuals that support the reallocation of funds
from incarceration and detention to building the infrastructure of a caring community. In
this context, the fight to ensure that the Sheriff no longer submit to hold requests from ICE
is not only an effort to protect immigrant communities, but also an integral part of the
movement to reduce incarceration rates in New Orleans.
The Women’s Group of the Congress of Day Laborers coordinates another coalition that
helps support the Right to Remain Campaign: Women United for Justice. In the civil rights,
immigrant rights and criminal justice movements, women have played a crucial role in
reminding us what oppression and incarceration does to our society, and that’s why
women in New Orleans are joining forces to push for changes in the criminal justice system
that promote health, safety and dignity. As their first joint effort this coalition hosted a
Women’s Breakfast, where they shared their personal experiences with female councilmembers and demanded they take a stand against the Sheriff’s submission to hold requests.
Members of the Congress of Day Laborers and their allies in the criminal justice reform,
labor, and faith communities courageously expose the bad effects of the merger of the
criminal and immigration systems on families, workers, and youth through direct action.
They have held vigils in front of the ICE Southern Region Field Office to mark deportations
of civil rights and labor leaders and deaths in detention. They held a 24-hour prayer vigil
that culminated in moving testimonies before the City Council about how the Sheriff’s
policies and practices are leading to racial profiling and race-based deportations though
Orleans Parish Prison (OPP). The 24 hour-long prayer vigil at the Sheriff’s office brought
immediate support from local and national allies. Pastors and neighbors came out to pray,
sing, and show their support for reconstruction workers’ right to remain in New Orleans.
Workers shared moving stories about how friends and loved ones had disappeared
through Sheriff Gusman’s jail, and the atmosphere of terror that they struggled with every
day as a result.
INTO THE WEEDS	36

Members also regularly participate directly in public fora on these issues speaking to local
elected officials about their vision of the right policies for New Orleans. Members of
Congress of Day Laborers supported organizing to win a historic vote limiting Sheriff’s
Gusman’s power to expand his Orleans Parish Prison. The proceedings ended with moving
testimonies and expert statements from reconstruction workers and their supporters
about the Sheriff’s illegal conduct, the workers’ right to remain, and the consequences of
the Sheriff’s choice to submit to hold requests from ICE which funnel immigrant workers
into deportation through his jail.
Members of the Congress of Day Laborers, organizers, allies, and allied attorneys have
worked closely to defend immigrants who have faced retaliation for their actions, but
they will not be made silent by these abuses of power. For example, during the prayer
vigil, Sheriff Gusman’s officers followed a leader of the Congress of Day Laborers and
participant in the prayer vigil, as he drove from the prayer vigil site to the offices of the
New Orleans Workers’ Center. Just out of sight of the vigil, the Sheriff’s officers ordered
him out of his vehicle, interrogated him, and threatened him with arrest. The officers told
him that they had surveilled the vigil and that they had identified him as a leader. They
then asked for his documents, demanded to know his home address, and threatened to
arrest him and send him to Orleans Parish Prison. He was released by the Sheriff when the
Congress of Day Laborers intervened at the site of the arrest. Another member was
re-arrested by ICE after winning her release from the Sherriff’s custody on a hold request
and spoke out publicly about the policy. She now faces imminent deportation and
separation from her child, and a national coalition of women’s, labor, and civil rights
organizations are fighting for her protection. The Congress of Day Laborers has also won
the release of every member held more than 48 hours on a hold request from the Sheriff’s
custody back into the community.
Members of the Congress of Day Laborers have also worked with the Legal Department at
the New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice, which provides general legal support
to the campaign. Members and allies have obtained critical public information on
government practices through state open records act requests. They have drafted a new
proposed policy for the Sheriff and the New Orleans City Council which would limit the
impact of ICE ACCESS programs, including Secure Communities and the Criminal Alien
Program, in New Orleans. Two members are plaintiffs in a major federal civil rights lawsuit
against Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman, Cacho, et al. v. Gusman. This major civil
rights lawsuit brought by members of the Congress of Day Laborers who are represented
by the New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice Legal Department (NOWCRJ) and
the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) exposes fundamental violations of law
brought on by Sheriff Gusman’s decision to submit to hold requests from Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The lawsuit details how Sheriff Gusman’s choices and
abuse of power have led to indefinite detention in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
Reconstruction worker Antonio Ocampo was held for 91 days after his misdemeanor
charges were resolved, and Mario Cacho was held for 164 days after his municipal charge
was resolved. Both had filed written grievances inside OPP and were only released after
taking legal action. Their indefinite detention violated their Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth
Amendment rights to liberty and due process under the U.S. Constitution, which protects
the fundamental rights of all members of the New Orleans community.

INTO THE WEEDS	37

CAMPAIGN STORY: SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA
Contributed by Angie Junck, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, and the Santa Clara County
Forum for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment
Santa Clara County is the only county in California where the Board of Supervisors has
authority over the jail, rather than the Sheriff’s office, which provides supervisory positions
within the Jail as well as staffing the Transportation Unit and Perimeter Patrol. Santa Clara
County has five elected County Board of Supervisors. Supervisor George Shirakawa, elected
Board President in 2012 and Chair of the County’s Public Safety and Justice Committee, led
efforts to pass the ICE hold policy. The County Counsel’s office led by Miguel Marquez, a
child of immigrant parents from Mexico, also played a critical role in the County’s efforts to
pass an ICE hold policy. His office has an impact litigation and social justice section which is
described as “part of a growing movement to use the power and unique perspective of local
government to better serve the community and to drive long-lasting social change.”

County Relationship with ICE
Despite a large immigrant presence and progressive County leadership, prior to 2010, Santa
Clara County did not have an immigrant community policing policy and historically was a
place where immigration enforcement in the criminal justice system was prevalent and the
County readily cooperated with such efforts. Immigration lawyers report that immigrants
who had been through the Santa Clara County criminal justice system represented a good
portion of immigrants held in northern California and Arizona detention centers, compared
with other California counties.
ICE has a large presence in the County with a sub-district office and local holding center in
the County. ICE’s enforcement efforts in Northern California also often target Santa Clara
County. For example, in a national criminal immigration sweep in September 2011, ICE
arrested more people in Santa Clara County than any other county in Northern California.
The County for many years also had an Intergovernmental Service Agreement (IGSA) with
ICE to hold immigrants in removal proceedings. The County reportedly lost the contract due
to ICE’s ability to contract with other counties in the region at a lower rate. Finally, Santa
Clara County’s 2011 SCAAP funding was $1,319,030.00, one of the highest amounts received
by California counties.

Santa Clara County Coalition Against S-Comm
In the fall of 2009, several local organizations convened to support the County’s efforts to
opt out of S-Comm. Many of the organizations that initially came together were part of a
local immigration raids response network that had disbanded due to the decline in such
raids. The coalition, named Santa Clara County Coalition Against S-Comm, ultimately grew
to be a diverse, multi-ethnic network of approximately 15 immigrant rights, direct service,
legal and civil rights, criminal justice, privacy, faith, and human rights organizations
representing or working with Latino, Asian, South Asian, and Arab immigrant communities.
Some of the agencies involved in the coalition included: Service, Immigrants Rights &
Education Network (SIREN), Asian Law Alliance, Silicon Valley De-Bug, Community Legal
Services of East Palo Alto, the ACLU, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, PICO’s local
affiliate People Acting in Community Together (PACT), The Catholic Dioceses of San Jose
through its Justice for Immigrants Campaign, and Sacred Heart Community Service. The
various organizations brought widely varying, but valuable perspectives, expertise, and
relationships to the coalition. Some critical assets that organizations brought included:
longstanding relationships with key County officials, ongoing participation in community
police efforts to improve public safety, experience working towards criminal justice system
reforms, familiarity with the plight of immigrants caught up in the criminal justice and
immigration systems, legal knowledge of immigration enforcement and immigration
consequences of crimes, and large and powerful constituent bases (one faith group
represented over 80,000 families and another represented over 40,000 families).
INTO THE WEEDS	38

The coalition agreed not to promote a message of innocence that would divide the immigrant
community by focusing on who is or who is not worthy of protection from immigration
enforcement. This was due to the advocacy of a criminal justice organization working with
immigrants caught up in the criminal justice system. Moreover, the coalition agreed that an
innocence message was not necessary to take a strong stance against immigration enforcement. The coalition abided by this principle throughout their advocacy efforts.

Coalition Work
In its work together for over two years to fight S-Comm and pass an ICE hold policy, the
coalition met almost weekly to map out strategies. A key strategy of the coalition was to
engage local officials on an ongoing basis to track and influence their positions. At the
beginning, the coalition conducted a series of research meetings with federal and county
officials, including Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, the Sheriff, the Undersheriff, the Chief
Probation Officer, the District Attorney, county counsel, and County Board of Supervisors, to
better understand existing County policies and practices to enforce immigration laws against
community members. When the County announced the creation of a detainer taskforce, the
coalition created a detainer report to share ideas on how the County could lessen its role in
immigration enforcement and distributed it to every County official. Some suggestions in the
report included: not to hold an inmate longer than necessary, inform local agency not to ask
for county of origin upon arrest or booking, have information ready in different languages,
and create an oversight committee to oversee data collection and protect individuals in
custody. When the coalition was informed that it would not have a seat on the taskforce, the
coalition met with each taskforce member before each taskforce meeting to educate him/her
on various issues relating to immigration enforcement and to share the coalition’s positions.
The coalition attended every taskforce hearing and coordinated speakers from all of the
member organizations to ensure that all of their points were made. Before the last taskforce
meeting, the coalition issued a detainer taskforce position paper where the coalition took the
stance that the County should not enforce any ICE holds. The coalition took similar strategies
for all of the Board of Supervisors public hearings.
Notably, the County and coalition’s efforts were not made very public. In general, media
efforts and public organized actions were not primary strategies. The coalition, however, did
focus on outreach to the community. For example, the coalition held a Community Forum on
detainers in July 2011. The purpose of the forum was to provide know your rights information to the community and individual immigration consultations, empower individuals to fight
their own cases by sharing testimonies, and engage the community in larger advocacy
efforts.
Since the policy was passed, the Coalition continues to defend the policy in the public sphere
and to share the lessons learned in the campaign. A significant next step for the Coalition is
to create a Trust Index Project. The goal of such a project is to quantify how the immigrant
communities’ trust has improved with the County as a result of the policy’s passage. County
officials are also in the process of calculating how much money has been saved as a result of
the policy.
One of the most important first steps that the coalition took was to develop a messaging
framework that each member organization would follow in advocating against immigration
enforcement in the county. They adopted the following framework:

INTO THE WEEDS	39

Overall Framework
S-Comm does nothing to promote the security it promises. Instead this program increases the
distrust between community and law enforcement; cultivates fear among the community;
belittles the county’s community values; fosters racial profiling and undermines the civil rights
and liberties of all residents. As community members, advocates, grassroots and faith leaders, we
stand in opposition to S-Comm, a voluntary program that is destructive and harmful to thousands of families in our county.
✚✚

✚✚

✚✚

Community impact
››

A mechanism that separate families (facilitates deportations)

››

Impact beyond booking – parent volunteers at school; childcare providers

Public safety
››

Creates mistrust within the community

››

Criminalizes immigrant communities

››

E ndangers victims of crime, particularly survivors of domestic violence who can be arrested
along with their abusers, and who already fear reporting crimes.

Fiscal impact
››

✚✚

Faith perspective
››

✚✚

Respecting dignity and humanity of all the residents of Santa Clara County

Racial profiling
››

✚✚

S-Comm drains resources- the county does not get reimbursed for SComm operation costs.

S -Comm assumes the criminal justice system is fair when we know there are many instances
of racial biases.

Due process
››

S-Comm undermines the constitutional guarantee of due process

INTO THE WEEDS	40

Critical efforts to fight immigration enforcement in Santa Clara county
May 2010

The federal government activates S-Comm without approval from the Board of Supervisors or
any other County official.

June 2010

The County of Board of Supervisors passes a sanctuary type resolution that states that
County employees will not inquire into residents’ immigration status unless required and the
County does not enforce federal civil immigration laws. This policy was a step towards
opting out of S-Comm as promised by ICE.

August 2010

County Counsel writes a letter to David Venturella, ICE asking about the legal requirements
to cooperate with ICE
David Venturella, ICE responds to County Counsel stating that ICE detainers are requests and
that ICE is not liable for any mistakes made until it assumes custody of an individual

September 2010

September 28, 2010

County Counsel issues a report to the Public Safety & Justice Committee (PSJC) of the Board
of Supervisors regarding ways to opt out of S-Comm, laying out that one such option is not
to enforce ICE holds. The report states, “we believe that immigration detainers are requests
only and that they cannot impose requirements on the County. Thus, the Board could direct
Administration to ensure that the County does not expend any resources in response to ICE’s
voluntary requests made in detainers…”
The Board of Supervisors votes unanimously to direct the County Executive and County
Counsel to opt out of S-Comm

November 2010

County requests an opt out of S-Comm and then meets with ICE to discuss such an opt out.
ICE informs the County that there is no opt-out.

December 2010

The PSJC hears the report back on the ICE Nov meeting and considers the following recommendation by County Counsel: “Direct Administration to ensure that, except as required by
law, no County funds are used to provide unreimbursed assistance to U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement, including assistance requested through immigration detainers.” PSJC
decides to set up a detainer taskforce facilitated by County Counsel with most County
officials serving as members including the Presiding Judge, the District Attorney, the Public
Defender, Chief Probation Officer, Sheriff, Undersheriff, Pretrial Services, Criminal Justice
Information Control, and County Budget Office.

January 2011

The community coalition issues its detainer report and recommendations on how to reduce
the County’s participation in S-Comm

March - May 2011

The Detainer taskforce convenes three times and ultimately recommends an ICE hold policy
to the PSJC that states that the County will enforce ICE holds only against those individuals
convicted of a violent or serious felony under California law and will exempt all juveniles. The
coalition issues a detainer position paper for the taskforce before their final meeting taking
the position that no ICE hold should be enforced.

September 7, 2011

The PSJC considers the detainer taskforce’s recommendation. Notably, the Chair, Sup.
Shirakawa announces that he wants to delay a vote to forward it on to the full Board because
of the recent announcement of Cook County’s ICE hold policy. Advocates later learn that he
wants to adopt a policy that goes further than Cook County.

October 5, 2011

October 18, 2011

At the PSJC meeting, Sup. Shirakawa introduces his alternative ICE hold policy which states
that the County will not enforce any ICE hold unless fully reimbursed by the federal government and if reimbursed, then it will use its discretion to only enforce ICE holds against those
convicted of violent and serious felonies under California law. The policy also limits ICE
access to individuals and county facilities. On a 1-1 vote, both policies are forwarded to the
full Board of their consideration.
Santa Clara Board of Supervisors on a vote of 3-1 (one absent) adopt Sup. Shirakawa’s
version of the ICE hold policy and reject the detainer taskforce’s version. This makes it the
strongest ICE hold ordinance in the country.

INTO THE WEEDS	41

APPENDIX

✚✚

Fact sheets for policy makers

✚✚

Sample media materials

✚✚

Legal analyses and templates

✚✚

Examples of communications between policy makers

✚✚

Sample policies and ordinances

The Appendix is currently available separately from the
National Immigration Project
For a copy of the Appendix, please contact Lena Graber:
lena@nationalimmigrationproject.org