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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 29, 2014
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MEDIA CONTACT
Mariam Hosseini
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Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus applauds San Francisco's decision to end responses to ALL ICE 'holds' and urges Obama Administration to review overdue deportation policies
SAN FRANCISCO - While President Obama unjustly stalls in reviewing his administration's inhumane deportation policies, which has resulted in a record 2 million deportations, the San Francisco Sheriff's Department declared today that they would no longer detain community members for additional time in response to any unconstitutional Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 'hold' or 'detainer' requests. The new San Francisco policy upholds constitutional due process protections and disentangles local law enforcement from ICE.
This important policy change to no longer hold community members for additional time in jail for deportation comes in light of several other similar decisions in Alameda, Contra Costa, Monterey, San Bernardino, Sacramento, San Diego, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Sonoma, Riverside, and Yolo Counties.
About 80 counties and counting across the nation have also embraced similar changes in refusing ICE holds, which are generated in part by ICE's troubling S-Comm Program. These changes are based upon a recent federal court decision, Maria Miranda-Olivares v. Clackamas County, which found ICE 'hold' requests unconstitutional and ordered county officials to pay monetary damages to a woman held in jail for extra time.
In disappointing contrast, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson testified in Congress today that the administration would be delaying a long-awaited internal review of its deportation policies and stated his commitment to the S-Comm program while conceding the program needed a "fresh look." While the administration continues to stall addressing its deportation record, 1,100 people are deported each day. Local communities across the country are rejecting S-Comm and demanding immediate action from the Obama administration.
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Advancing Justice - ALC was founded in 1972 as the nation's first legal and civil rights Asian American organization. Recognizing that social, economic, political and racial inequalities continue to exist in the United States, Advancing Justice - ALC is committed to the pursuit of equality and justice for all sectors of our society, with a specific focus directed toward addressing the needs of low-income, immigrant and underserved Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Visit www.advancingjustice-alc.org.
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