Police Chief: ‘We appear to have failed to notify ICE’

Two investigations centering on how police work with federal immigration and customs officials are ongoing in Prince William County.

One is a public probe ordered Saturday by the Board of County Supervisors to learn if county police are talking to federal immigration and customs officials, or ICE when officers come across anyone has criminal, or civil administrative — also called a deportation order — against them.

The second is an internal investigation ordered by Prince William County Police Chief Stephan Hudson, who wants to know why some officers declined to properly notify ICE in about half of the cases involving illegal immigrants with a civil or administrative warrant for their arrest.

A WJLA story labeling Prince William as one of four “sanctuary cities” in the Washington, D.C. region for illegal immigrants prompted a swift reaction from At-large Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart. The Chairman in 2007 made national headlines when he pushed for some of the strictest measures in the nation when leading the Board to pass an ordinance that would require all county police officers to check the legal presence of anyone stopped or arrested.

In an email obtained by Potomac Local, Chief Hudson told county officials that only about half of the cases involving illegal immigrants were handled properly.

“I have some additional info I can share, but am still working to verify some facts with ICE. Basically, our officers appear to have made phone contact with ICE’s screening center in about half the cases when we got these hits. We appear to have failed to notify ICE in the remaining cases… I will conduct a formal internal investigation into this matter to determine how this apparent failure to notify (in at least some of the cases) has occurred, but that will take time.

-Prince William County Police Chief Stephan Hudson

Officers check the ID of anyone stopped by for a suspected offense. Information on that person is returned to them on a computer. And, if the person has a criminal warrant out of their arrest, police place the suspect in handcuffs.

If the suspect has a civil or administrative warrant against them, police do not have the authority to arrest that person, explained Stewart. Officials now want to know how many times Prince William officers have come encountered individuals with such warrants and did not notifiy ICE.

The Prince William County Police Department’s authority to check the legal status of immigrants ended in 2012 when the 287g program — a joint program with the feds that trained officers on how to check the legal status of those arrested went away. Officers at the county jail are still trained in checking the legal status of those arrested, and still do so today.

“We certainly disagree with Channel 7’s labeling of Prince William County as a “sanctuary county.” Law enforcement officials in Prince William County have a well-established history of cooperating with ICE. In all criminal custodial arrests, PWCPD officers inquire into the immigration status of the arrestee and document the response on arrest paperwork.

100% of all arrestees booked into the Prince William/Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center (Jail) are screened through the 287g program, and the Jail notifies ICE of those findings.

Furthermore, In the event our officers find a person to have a criminal “Previously Deported Felon” warrant from ICE, officers arrest that person and follow the same procedure at the jail.”

–Prince William police spokesman Jonathan Perok

Interacting with those who have administrative warrants is only a “small portion” of the department’s dealings with ICE, but that was the core focus of the WJLA story, added Perok.

The Board of Supervisors was beginning its search for a new police chief at the same time the police department’s 287g authority was coming to an end. Hudson was appointed Chief of Police in February 2013 after Charlie T. Deane, the department’s first second Chief of Police retired. It’s possible that someone could have dropped the ball during this changeover period, and at least some directives weren’t followed, said Stewart.

“There’s a lot that we don’t know yet, and we’re going to have to wait for the results of our audit,” added Stewart.

The county tasked private firm RSM with conducting the audit. The results could come before the end of the month.