Study Charges Orange County Probation With Unlawful ICE Referrals

"A new report from the UC Irvine School of Law Immigrant Rights Clinic (IRC) blasts the Orange County Probation Department (OCPD) for its collaboration with federal immigration officials.  The "Second Chances for All" study released today comes just days after activists shut down the entrance to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Santa Ana.  As OC leads the state in ICE detainer requests for youth, the IRC points the finger at the referral practices by the OCPD as the main reason why.  The department's policy, authors of the report say, violates confidentiality law and prioritizes deportation over rehabilitation.  At issue is a written procedure that directs intake officers to determine a youth's immigration status once entering juvenile hall.  Without sufficient training in violation of constitutional rights, the study states, OCPD officers are obliged to notify their ICE liaison if a minor "appears to be an undocumented alien," a determination made through interviews, state database and birth certificate checks.  Referrals turn into detainer requests...a whole lot of them." - Gabriel San Román, Dec. 4, 2013.