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DOJ memo directs prosecutors to investigate local efforts to impede immigration crackdowns

Concertina wire on the U.S. fence at the border with Mexico in Nogales
Claire Caulfield/KJZZ

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.

More Immigration News

Alisa Reznick is a senior field correspondent covering stories across southern Arizona and the borderlands for the Tucson bureau of KJZZ's Fronteras Desk.