Arizona Department Of Corrections - 287(g) Foia Documents

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NAPOLITANO

DIRECTOR

GOVERNOR

August 2, 2005 John P. Clark Deputy Assistant Secretary' U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department of Homeland Security 425 I Street, N.W. Washington D.C. 20536 Re: 287(g); 8 USC 1357 Dear Mr. Secretary: The Arizona Department of Corrections would like to pursue a written agreement with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, Phoenix office, to identify qualified Arizona Department of Corrections employees for training by U.S. Immigration and customs enforcement to perfonn certain duties under the supervision of your agency to expedite the identification of undocumented individuals and otherwise assist as appropriate in the deportation process. I would be pleased to provide additional infolJIlation as needed..

Cordially,

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m« 20515

MAY 1 6 2005

May 5, 2005 Assistant Secretary Michael J. Garcia U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 425 I Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20536 Dear Assistant Secretary Garcia: We are writing to express our serious concerns over the number of foreign-born inmates being housed ·in Arizona's Department of Corrections facilities. As you may be aware, there are currently more than 500 such inmates that have been determined eligible for deportation but are awaiting deportation orders from your agency. Housing each undocumented immigrant costs Arizona taxpayers an average of $53 a day. The Director of the Department of Corrections may release a prisoner to the custody and control ofImmigration and Customs Enforcement if the Department receives an order of deportation for the prisoner from your agency. However, long delays in the processing of paperwork and retrieval by Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel are imposing severe hardships on the finite financial resources of the Corrections Department. Given that the Corrections Department is able to accurately assess the number of foreign-born inmates that will be eligible for deportation orders up to five years in the future, it would be appropriate to establish a system now that will avoid future backlogs. We recognize the monetary and personnel constraints under which you are operating, and wish to inquire as to-how ICE plans to process future inmates eligible for deportation in a timely, regular and consistent manner. We urge you to initiate and carry out such a plan that functions efficiently for the state of Arizona. As you well know, it is indisputably the responsibility of the federal government to secure the border. The government's failure to do so necessitates its cooperation with the states that are adversely affected. We would appreciate receiving information by June 15,2005 on ICE's progress in establishing a system for the future so that these foreign-born inmates may be processed regularly and promptly. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. Sincerely,

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PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER

STATE OF ARIZONA

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

.NET NAPOLITANO GOVERNOR

1700 WEST WASHINGTON STREET, PHOENIX, AZ 85007

MAIN PHONE: 602-542-433 1 FACSIMILE: 602-542-7601

July 1,2005

The Honorable Michael Chertoff . Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Washington D.C. 20528 Dear Secretary Chertoff: Thank you for taking the time to discuss with me some of the issues Arizona faces with respect to illegal Immigration. I am encouraged by our telephone conversation and am writing to confirm a few of the issues we talked about. Working closely with the federal Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, I plan to move forward with a pilot project that would benefit loeallaw enforcement and allow police officers to quickly retum to their posts after picking up undocumented aliens (UDAs). In addition, I am most concerned with the violent human smuggling trade that uses the Phoenix area as a main transit hub. In some Arizona communities, local law enforcement officers often come into contact with large numbers of UDAs during routine traffic or ather law enforcement activities. To alleviate the strain this puts on loeal departments, I plan to commit twelve Department of Public Safety (DPS) police officers to partner one-on-one with federal Border Patrol Officers stationed in Maricopa County whose purpose is to identify. transport and process UDAs. DPS has already committed to purchasing the vehicles and equipment necessary for this special enforcement squad to do its job. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has agreed to assist in providing the qecf spacenee~d~cft() h()use individual~detained flY this ~uad, I also welcome your offer to train correctional personnel at the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) to assist ICE staff with the deportation process. Today ADC has In its custody 544 eligible illegal aliens who could be deported if the deportation process had been completed. Another 500 eligible foreign nationals confined by ADC in its inmate population should be deported later in calendar 2006 and their processing is not yet completed. The training of state personnel to augment the efforts of federal agents should help expedite the process of deporting undocumented aliens to their home countries after serving

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Secretary Michael Chertoff July 1, 2005 Page 2

however, not all duties such as the deportation may be delegated or shared and in these instances. the state will continue to rely wholly on your department for relief. As we discussed, I am hopeful that you will be able to utilize your agency's experts to provide basic and specialized training for the Individuals who will be Involved in these projects. To keep costs to a minimum. It would be particularly helpful to conduct training at a facility in Arizona. Thank you for your commitment to working with me on finding solutions to our illegal immigration problem. I look forward to our next opportunity to talk about this important issue and updates on progress. Yours very truly,

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{/anet Napolitano Governor

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Frank Navarrete, Director Office of Homeland Security

c.Jjfice ofCongressional Relations

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Department of Homeland Security 425 I Street, NW Washington, DC 20536

u.s. Immigration

and Customs Enforcement

The Honorable Jeff Flake U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Dear Congressman Flake: Thank you for your letter of May 5,2005, co-signed by nine of your colleagues in Congress, regarding your concerns about the number of foreign-born inmates being housed in Arizona's Department of Corrections facilities. Each co-signer will receive an individual response. On June 7, 2005, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) representatives from the Office of Investigations (01) Phoenix Field Office met with Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano and her staff about the upcoming statewide law emorcement summit on illegal immigration and its effect on Arizona law enforcement agencies. Please note that one ofthe agenda items for this summit will respond to your inquiry regarding how ICE plans to handle incarcerated aliens in the future. The law enforcement summit will be held in Flagstaff, Arizona, on July 12,2005. Representatives from 01 and the Office of Detention and Removal Operations from Headquarters and the Phoenix Field Office will attend. The Arizona Department of Public Safety is coordinating this summit for the Office of Governor Napolitano. Following the summit we will infonn you of the resolutions agreed upon regarding the release of illegal aliens from Arizona prisons. I appreciate your interest in ICE. If I may be of further assistance, please call me at (202) 514-5232. Sincerely,

www.ice.gov