Senate committee advances bill that would require law enforcement to turn illegal immigrants over to ICE
By Autumn Shelton, Real WV
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a bill on Monday that would require West Virginia’s law enforcement officers to turn illegal immigrants over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
This bill is being advanced at a time when ICE has come under intense scrutiny over due process concerns, and following a report that over the course of two weeks in January, over 650 people in West Virginia were taken into custody during an ICE surge.
According to language in proposed Senate Bill 615, if members of local, state or federal law enforcement “determine” that a person is in West Virginia illegally, they must immediately contact ICE for purposes of deportation.
Additionally, if that person is found in West Virginia a second time, the bill sets forth sentencing for a felony charge and reinforces current state code that no local, state or law enforcement agency shall adopt a rule that restricts compliance with the new policy.
During discussion, Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, questioned the bill’s language, asking “When is somebody, an individual, when have they been determined to be in the United States illegally by a law enforcement agency in this state?”
Lonnie Faircloth, president of the West Virginia State Troopers Association, explained the process.
“If we stop someone who we suspect for tags or whatever, we ask them for their identification,” Faircloth said. “If they either don’t have it or it comes back that it was a false name or something like that and just everything is not adding up then, if it comes back that they could be illegal or they don’t have the proper identification we will contact ICE to have them come on scene.”
According to Faircloth, ICE would then make the determination if the individual is an illegal immigrant.
“Also, if we actually arrested them for something, and we suspected that they were illegal, we would take them to whatever regional jail and then call ICE,” Faircloth continued. “They would do that determination and they would put an ICE detainer on them.”
Sen. Brian Helton, R-Fayette, asked for further clarification.
“Just to be clear for everyone, you would never apprehend someone simply because you somehow thought they were here illegally, correct?” Helton asked. “It would have to be as a result of some other suspicion, criminal offense, speeding, tail-light out, something to that effect?”
Faircloth responded that Helton was correct.
“No, sir. That’s illegal,” Faircloth said of apprehending a person simply because they were suspected of being an illegal immigrant. “And, that’s not how the State Police works.”
Garcia responded that he appreciated the testimony of Trooper Faircloth, but he expressed concern regarding the bill’s language.
“When someone’s being arrested, or actually when there’s an immigration detainer that’s out there, there doesn’t need to be a determination. There needs to be probable cause,” Garcia said. “To me this either means nothing or it means everything.”
“Again, I trust our State Troopers are doing their best by the law not to profile people, but I have to wonder sometimes because I have seen in other states where United States citizens have been detained,” Garcia said. “My last name’s Garcia. If I don’t have, which I don’t carry around necessarily, my passport or my birth certificate everywhere, could I be pulled over and then detained? You know, it’s not like it hasn’t happened across the United States.”
Garcia said that having the bill become state code without clarity “provides this almost push towards, again, what is a determination?”
“To me, it’s either ‘I’m clear,’ or ‘I could push this state in a direction where maybe I have to worry a little more about my safety,’ even though I am a United States citizen,” Garcia said. “So, for those reasons, I oppose the bill.”
Despite Garcia’s opposition, committee members advanced the bill to the full Senate.
