By Susan Duclos
PHOENIX, AZ (February 27, 2013) – Maricopa County Attorney Bill
Montgomery released the following statement on the decision by
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to release several hundred
immigrant detainees from deportation centers in Arizona:
The recent decision by the Obama Administration
to release ICE detainees into local communities with no formal
notification to law enforcement, regardless of the reasons for the
decision, is in callous disregard for public safety. We do not know the
criteria for determining release nor the actual offenses committed by
detainees or the basis for detention in the first place. Unfortunately,
it is just the latest example of acting without thinking or caring when
it comes to addressing issues surrounding immigration on the whole and
illegal immigration in particular. For us in Arizona, we’ve seen this
kind of conduct before. In December of 2011, ICE summarily ceased
cooperation with the Maricopa County Jail’s 287(g) and Secured
Communities Programs, ignorant of the effect on our responsibilities per
the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963 and the need to
provide information to local courts as required per the Arizona
Constitution for release determinations. With respect to Consular
obligations, Article 36 of the treaty provides that foreign nationals in
custody must be given notice “without delay” of their right to have
their embassy or consulate notified and, if requested, law enforcement
must provide to the embassy or consulate, giving the person's name, the
place of arrest, and, if possible, information about the offense.
It was only after an intense round of
notifications and making Administration officials aware of their blunder
that resources were promised to ensure a continued flow of required
information on all persons booked into the jail. While local ICE
officials have been cooperative and we have been able to meet the
obligations regarding consular notifications and release determinations,
the promise to provide 50 more ICE agents to assist with this effort
never materialized.
As for the recent statement by the Secretary of
Homeland Security of impending sequestration cutbacks to Customs and
Border Protection resources, reported to include a reduction of up to
25% in deployed agent time equivalent to 5,000 agents with less security
between ports of entry, this response is unconscionable given the
national security and criminal threats faced every day along the
southwest border and the Tucson sector. Should these reductions occur,
it will be accurate to report that this Administration has deliberately
and consciously rendered the southwest border less secure than any other
administration in recent memory.
The Administration’s willingness to endanger
public safety and jeopardize national security is in direct violation of
the President’s charge under Art. II, Sec. 3., that “…he shall take
Care that the Laws be faithfully executed…” If he chose to do so, he
could use his executive authority to require administrative agencies of
the executive branch to prioritize spending to ensure that necessary
functions are not impaired. The willingness to play chicken with the
security of Americans is contemptible.
