The U.S. Department of Homeland Security [DHS] announced the launching of a hot line for people jailed on immigration charges who believe they are victims of abuse, or are U.S. citizens detained through immigration enforcement in error.
The telephone service is Washington’s latest effort to address concerns about suspected undocumented immigrants booked in local jails.
The new policy comes after recent reports of U.S. citizens being deported and DHS putting an end to an immigration enforcement agreement it had with Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) in Arizona, due to "discriminatory policing practices" which allowed Sheriff Arpaio’s deputies to check the immigration status of local jail inmates and triggered a series of allegations of racial profiling and discrimination against Latinos.
The measure also gives Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] the option to ask that someone be held only if they are convicted of a crime.
ICE on Thursday also announced a change in the language and procedure used by law enforcement entities when detaining someone. The U.S. immigration agency asked local police departments to provide detainees with written advice regarding the hotline and informing them they can't be held for more than 48 hours.
There have been reports of cases of legal immigrants that have been put into deportation proceedings after being arrested and charged with, but not convicted of, a crime that falls into grounds for removal.
The toll free hot line will be run by ICE 24 hours a day to answer questions from people held in local jails about whether they may face potential removal from the country. The toll free number is 855-448-6903.
More than 392,000 removals of illegal aliens were executed by ICE in fiscal year 2010, half of which were convicted criminals. The statistics set a record and represent increases of more than 23,000 overall deportations and 81,000 criminal removals compared to fiscal year 2008—a more than 70 percent increase from the Bush administration.
The Obama administration deported a record number of illegal immigrants for the third straight year, according to official figures.
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