A new Department of Justice memo directs federal prosecutors to investigate local jurisdictions it believes are impeding deportation plans outlined by the new Trump administration.
The memo says jurisdictions with so-called sanctuary policies toward immigrants could face criminal charges, and directs the agency’s civil division to identify state and local laws that threaten to impede immigration efforts — like mass deportations and other crackdowns.
Gerardo Castillo is the chief deputy of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office. It’s a Democratic stronghold where residents have family on both sides of the border. He says he hasn’t heard yet about the new memo, but in general he’s trying to avoid speculation.
“What if they ask you this? What if they ask you that? As long as it’s not law, I don’t think there’s a lot I can respond to,” he said.
Castillo says his department’s deputies are largely focused on responding to property crime and other 911 calls in Nogales. And historically, putting immigration-related arrest authority into the hands of local law enforcement has been challenged in court.
“Senate Bill 1070 was challenged and there was an Arizona sheriff that continued with the process,” he said.
Arizona’s SB1070 allowed local law enforcement to make immigration-related arrests until it was mostly struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Then-Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio later faced additional legal issues for racial profiling allegations.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The story has been updated to correct Gerardo Castillo's name.
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The flow of migrants to the U.S.-Mexico border has remained low over the past year, but there was an uptick in apprehensions between February and March. -
The Phoenix police chief has put a sergeant on paid leave while an internal investigation of the sergeant’s behavior at an ICE protest in the East Valley is conducted. -
Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego are calling on the Department of Homeland Security to abandon its investigation into the state’s 2020 presidential election. -
Democratic Reps. Greg Stanton, Yassamin Ansari and Adelita Grijalva say they were shocked by the conditions inside the ICE holding facility at Mesa Gateway Airport on Thursday evening. -
As the New York Times reports, more than 100 of the roughly 750 immigration judges have been dismissed. About 140 permanent and temporary judges have been appointed in the wake of those firings — including former DHS prosecutors.
