Federal detainers become less effective but deportation still a risk

In Riverside, deportation is still an issue that the immigrant community is battling against. While the immigration community itself is very large and California has some semblance of protection through detainer cooperation refusal, there are still many immigrants who get deported every week.

In response to the upswing in deportation cases, there are many counties, cities and even states across the nation that have begun to refuse cooperating with federal authorities when it comes to federal detainers. These detainers are requests from the immigration authorities, and if state authorities oblige, they may be able to hold immigrants up to 2 days after their set release date after an immigrant has been arrested. However, 300 cities including New York City and 3 states including California have declared that these requests will not be honored.

Despite this, immigrants must still struggle with the threat of deportation. For example, one Dominican man living in New York City ended up in an 8 month long court battle that cost him both his apartment and his job, putting his entire family in a situation of financial instability and uncertainty. This is because he was arrested on a trespassing charge which then led to him almost being deported.

Many advocacy groups are working hard to make deportation less of a threat to the numerous immigrants living in the country. However, the threat is still very real and all immigrants should be aware of it. Any immigrants who end up facing potential deportation or detainment related issues may wish to speak with an attorney.

Source: Governing, “Many Local and State Governments Are Defying Feds on Immigrant Deportation,” Nov 4, 2014