Herndon authorities are awaiting word of final acceptance from the federal government after the town council moved to a unanimous approval last week for a relationship with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that would provide training and ultimately authority to enforce some immigration laws.
Provided ICE accepts the agreement outlining the training, Herndon will become the first municipal law enforcement agency to enter into an active agreement with ICE, according to ICE spokesperson Mike Gilhooly. All of the 12 agencies that have made it as far as Herndon have been approved for the training, Gilhooly added.
"The goal of this [federal training for local immigration enforcement] is enhancing the safety of U.S. citizens," he said. "If there are individuals who are here in the country illegally and are engaging in crimes that are dangerous to the American people we need to do what we can to stop that."
"It's a force multiplier for us."
If the agreement, drafted last month between local Herndon officials and federal ICE special agents, is approved, a location that will be "as convenient as possible" for Herndon police officers to undergo training will be chosen and a date will be set, according to Gilhooly. "Once the law enforcement agency has signed [the agreement for training] we try and move as expeditiously as possible," to review the agreement and, if necessary, set up training locations and dates, he said.
But the 51 agencies around the country involved in some point of the application process for the ICE training could mean that Herndon may be training with another law enforcement agency in a common location, Gilhooly added. For example, both Alamance and Gaston counties in North Carolina were accepted for ICE training at approximately the same time, allowing for the federal agency to offer a joint class for officers, according to Gilhooly.
HERNDON HAS YET to choose which of its officers will attend the training and how many of the maximum seven will go if the agreement is approved by ICE, according to Lt. Jerry Keys of the Herndon Police Department. The department put out a bulletin earlier this year asking for any interested officers who would be willing to volunteer for the training and got "several" responses said Keys, who declined to comment on the total number of interested officers. The Herndon Police Department presently has 53 full-time sworn officers.
Earlier this month it was announced that training will allow for local police to initiate deportation proceedings on criminals who also happen to be illegal immigrations who are convicted of serious "group a" offenses like murder, rape and fraud, as well as DUI.
"If someone is caught who might be driving with [no operator's license], that won't mean that they will automatically have deportation initiated, regardless of who writes that ticket," Keys said. "That doesn't initiate the authority."
While Keys said that there is interest amongst the officers, he is not sure just how the training will affect the work of the department as of yet.
"It's a part of our job now — it's new and I'm not sure how it will work yet," Keys said. "Once we find out a little more about it and learn how to apply it, it'll be just another tool in the tool belt as far as we're concerned."
THE POTENTIAL negative effects of ICE-trained officers include some residents' hesitation to communicate with police.
That concern is reinforced by the Falls Church-based Virginia Justice Center, said Laura Stack, managing attorney with the organization. For Stack, the training might only lead to suspicion of police officers from victims and would-be witnesses of crimes who might otherwise be willing to come forward.
"We need everybody who lives in our community to be aware and vigilant when it comes to reporting crimes," Stack said. "I think we expect people to understand [the training and authority is more narrowly defined] but once those rumor mills get started it can easily work to change that perception."
Stack said that the negative effects on the immigrant community's suspicion of the training has already been felt, when an August meeting about ways to improve public safety with day laborers and Fairfax County Police officers drew about 50 people and its subsequent follow-up meeting in November saw numbers of the crowd drop to about 20. She said that workers had told her that it was directly the result of suspicion over local police and immigration enforcement brought on by Herndon's desire to initiate the application for the training.
Enforcement of immigration law is already adequate with the resources it utilizes and any additional training is just a "diversion of important resources," Stack added.
"Through our first-hand experience, we think that [local] police enforcing immigration laws has an extremely chilling effect" on community relations with police officers, Stack said. "Whether you care about [immigrants] or not, everyone wants people to report crimes and if there is a witness to a crime who is afraid to come forward that affects the entire community."
Now that ICE training has been approved by Herndon, the Virginia Justice Center will work with local police officers to get information out to the community explaining that the immigration authority does not extend to all immigrants, Stack said.