“County sheriffs have become useful avatars for the anti-immigration movement, but it wasn’t necessarily a given that this would be the case. To understand how sheriffs are involved in immigration, et al., we first have to explain how immigration law became connected to law enforcement.”
~ Jessica Pishko, a excerpt from her book entitled: “The Highest Law in the Land” (How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy, Chapter 10: “Border Wars,” page 279
It is my strong opinion that this book by Jessica Pishko is a must read for editors and journalists, as well as citizens of conscience who are concerned about the future and direction of our country.
– Malik Washington, Journalist, Destination Freedom Media Group
This is Part 1 of a multi-part series which will focus on the Trump Administration’s imminent mass deportation program. Our intention is to educate undocumented human beings and the public at large in regard to the laws that govern immigration as well as provide accurate accounts of how the program is implemented. We will be publishing all articles related to this series in Spanish and English.
In 1996, a piece of legislation was enacted, known as the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA). Sheriffs across America began to utilize the IIRIRA as their authority to arrest suspected, undocumented immigrants for a myriad of minor offenses, such as: drug possession, drunk driving, and shoplifting. Once incarcerated at the local county jail, deportation proceedings began.
SHERIFFS BECOME EXTENSIONS OF ICE
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly known as ICE, offer sheriffs across the country an opportunity to become extensions of ICE by opting in and joining a program known as 287(g). “287(g) gives sheriffs’ offices more authority to interrogate people at the point of arrest about their immigration status. It also allows them to hold individuals until ICE can pick them up, often through a process called a ‘detainer,’ which is just a piece of paper from ICE asking sheriffs to hold someone until an agent can arrive.” – from The Highest Law in the Land, page 281.
It is noteworthy to mention that ICE does not provide any additional funding for those sheriffs that participate in the 287(g) program (the program actually costs them money!) – from The Highest Law in the Land.
In the State of California, the political philosophy/ideology of county sheriffs varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. I have witnessed many undocumented human beings become victims of crime. Some are human trafficked; some are thrust into indentured servitude; and some by default become targets of wage fraud. Domestic violence plagues the undocumented community, and many victims are afraid to report the abuse or seek help for fear that they may be deported. We found that it is important to educate all community members about California law within the context of this specific topic. Allow me to quote California Penal Code section 679.015(b). Title 17, Rights of Victims and Witnesses of Crime, Section 679.015(b) states:
“Whenever an individual who is a victim of or witness to a crime, or who otherwise can give evidence in a criminal investigation is not charged with or convicted of committing any crime under state law, a peace officer may not detain the individual exclusively for any actual or suspected immigration violation or turn the individual over to federal immigration authorities absent a judicial warrant.”
I decided to conduct some research in order to assess a real-world application of this flaw. I asked a San Francisco County Sheriff Deputy the following question: “If you were called to an address for a domestic violence call and both parties were undocumented, however, the victim had not committed a crime, would you detain both parties?” The Sheriff’s deputy who asked to remain anonymous responded as follows: “I would not detain the victim nor would I run their name unless I noticed that both parties had injuries, then I would be compelled to act.”
This is only one example of how undocumented people may or may not be treated by law enforcement in California. There is no guarantee or promise that law enforcement in other states will afford undocumented people the same protection from deportation.
JOURNALISTIC NOTE: Human trafficking is a modern form of slavery, involving illegal smuggling and trading of people for forced labor or sexual exploitation. Immigration agents and law enforcement officers many times ignore the harm, and the damage visited upon undocumented human beings.
- The Human Rights Center at U.C. Berkeley produced a compelling and authoritative report entitled: “HIDDEN SLAVES: Forced Labor in the United States.” (We strongly encourage our readers to review this report); https://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/hiddenslaves_report.pdf
- In 2017, there were an estimated 79,000 child sex trafficking victims in the State of Texas according to a two-year research study by the University of Texas; and
https://socialwork.utexas.edu/more-than-300000-estimated-victims-of-human-trafficking-in-texas/
- The news organization, SF Gate, published a four-part special report in 2006 on sex trafficking. Below are the links to the special report:
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/SEX-TRAFFICKING-San-Francisco-Is-A-Major-Center-2468554.php (Part 1 of 4)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/DIARY-OF-A-SEX-SLAVE-THE-STORY-How-we-2468544.php (Part 2 of 4)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/DIARY-OF-A-SEX-SLAVE-THIRD-OF-A-FOUR-PART-2468512.php (Part 3 of 4)
https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/diary-of-a-sex-slave-last-in-a-four-part-2486203.php
(Part 4 of 4)
Here’s the Federal statute for forced labor in the United States:
https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-2000-title18-section1589&num=0&edition=2000
Destination Freedom Media Group feels duty-bound to share this information, as we believe it intersects with the imminent mass deportation program.
FINANCIAL INCENTIVES & RACIAL BIAS
It is very important to inform our readers that county jails, which are run by sheriffs, detain a large percentage of immigration detainees. Sheriffs get paid up to $200 per detainee every day. With that said, some sheriffs, not all, abuse their authority and instruct their deputies to lock up as any undocumented people as is humanly possible. You would think that this abuse only is found among sheriffs whose jurisdictions are near border areas, but that is not the case. Jessica Pishko relayed this cautionary tale on page 282 of her book, The Highest Law in the Land, “Sheriff Terry Johnson of Alamance County, North Carolina used his immigration enforcement powers to inspire terror and line his pockets. In 2006, after he joined the 287(g) program his office pulled over Latinx people at six times the rate of White people.” (Traffic stops are a common mode of immigration enforcement because people can be arrested for “driving without a license” if they are undocumented and, therefore, unable to get a license from the state). Sheriff Johnson told his deputies to: “Go out there and get some taco eaters.” In the five-year period between 2008 and 2013, 10% of the county’s undocumented community members were deported.
This is reprehensible conduct by any standard, but it actually is quite common. Former Maricopa County Joe Arpaio of Arizona is the poster child for unconstitutional and inhuman treatment of undocumented human beings. We want to point out that in California, undocumented people are able to obtain a driver’s license with the following requirements. https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/driver-licenses-identification-cards/assembly-bill-ab-60-driver-licenses/
“AB 60 driver’s licenses are for individuals who are unable to provide proof of legal presence in the United States, but who meet California DMV requirements and are able to provide proof of identity and California residency.”
I’ve provided an example of how a sheriff’s greed, personal prejudices and biases can influence their treatment of undocumented people, but let’s dig a little deeper and look at an organization that attempts to shape and mold sheriffs into their own racist ideological image.
WHAT IS F.A.I.R.?
There is an anti-immigrant organization that I encourage our readers to research and learn more about. The organization is known as F.A.I.R., the Federation for American Immigration Reform. FAIR has a significant amount of influence among sheriffs across the United States. Jessica Pishko states in her book that: “FAIR largely connects with law enforcement and produces reams of xenophobic media.”
Mainstreaming Hate: The Anti-Immigrant Movement in the U.S.
https://www.adl.org/resources/report/mainstreaming-hate-anti-immigrant-movement-us
Who funds Anti-Immigrant hatred? • The Web of Hate • BRAVE NEW FILMS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQSuwxNheMs
Howard Buffett’s Border War: A Billionaire’s Son Is Spending Millions in Cochise County
The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated FAIR a hate group. In states that FAIR is operating, they are a part of a larger network called “The Tanton Network.” The founder of this network, John Tanton, was a Michigan-based ophthalmologist who, in the late 1970s, had the idea to create a series of connected groups that would all promote an extremely bigoted and restrictive anti-immigrant message. Our readers need to know that FAIR spends a lot of time and resources courting sheriffs in America.
“Tanton founded the Social Contract Press which published a quarterly journal of nativist White nationalist writers called ‘The Social Contract’ until the Fall of 2019. He (Tanton) founded the pro-eugenics organization, Society for Genetic Education.” – Wikipedia
NOTE: Eugenics is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or promoting those judged to be superior. New gene editing technologies, like CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats), have prompted contentious bio-ethical discussions revolving around eugenics. By the way, CRISPR was further researched right here in Northern California at UC Berkeley.
CRISPR Timeline: https://www.broadinstitute.org/what-broad/areas-focus/project-spotlight/crispr-timeline
Ladies and gentlemen, there is a “science” to racism and xenophobia. Sadly, there are some who wear the badge of sheriff who secretly or even openly embrace debunked or bigoted theories. There are approximately 3,083 county sheriffs in the United States. Jessica Pishko describes the demographic breakdown of these sheriffs as follows: “They are also the whitest, most masculine, and longest tenured. As of 2020, only 4 percent of sheriffs were Black, and less than 2 percent were women.” I want to emphasize that when it comes to a specific sheriff’s attitude toward immigration enforcement, the race and gender of the sheriff is not a key factor. There are toxic and hateful political philosophies/ideologies at play that need to be identified and that leads me to my final focal points.
Kelly A. Martinez is the Sheriff of San Diego County, California. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is one of the largest sheriff’s departments in the United States (over 4,000 employees) and it has a budget that hovers around $1 billion per year (Source: Wikipedia). Sheriff Martinez has made news recently by defiantly refusing to follow or adhere to a decision made by the San Diego Board of Supervisors not to cooperate with ICE.
Here, we provide links to some of these articles:
Sheriff refusal to further limit ICE cooperation may violate state law
Sheriff Martinez stands firm against Supervisors’ new immigration policy
Border Report: Understanding San Diego’s Stricter ‘Sanctuary’ Policy
It is too premature to say exactly what immigration enforcement will look like in San Diego County this year. We promise our readers that we will be following this story very closely.
We end this first part of this multi-part series with a quote from Jessica Pishko that may help explain Sheriff Martinez’ defiant stance. Remember, knowledge is power.
“It is worth pointing out that immigration enforcement is one of the few areas where the federal government does have some say. Because immigration is a federal issue, presidential administrations can end 287(g) programs, for example, or set priorities for deportations, as the Obama Administration did. At the same time, this is what makes far-right sheriffs so very dangerous under an administration like Donald Trump’s. Once activated, sheriffs are already organized, prone to the anti-immigrant, and have internal networks that help them lobby for funding and more aggressive laws.” ~Jessica Pishko, The Highest Law in the Land, page 283.
Malik Washington is a freelance journalist and Director at Destination: Freedom and Destination Freedom Media Group.
