Policy Text
Immigration - 1 Printed Date: 2017/06/01
© 1995 -2015 Lexipol, LLC Policy Oakland Police Department
415 Policy Manual
Immigration
415.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
The purpose of this immigration policy is to provide guidance and direction to the members of
the Oakland Police Department (OPD) on Federal, State, and local immigration laws.
The responsibility for enforcement of immigration laws rests solely with the U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) under the direction of the United States Department of
Homeland Security (DHS), and not with local or state law enforcement agencies. OPD is
committed to equal enforcement of the law and equal service to the public regardless of a
person’s immigration status. This commitment increases our effectiveness in protecting and
serving the entire community.
415.2 DUE PROCESS RIGHTS OF ALL PERSONS
OPD shall not provide federal immigration agencies access to individuals solely for the purpose
of immigration enforcement.
If OPD receives a federal immigration detainer request for an individual in OPD custody, Officers
shall provide the individual with a copy of the request.
Officers shall not inquire or request proof of immigration status or citizenship when providing
services or benefits except where the receipt of such benefits or services is contingent upon
one’s immigration status, such as in the processing of a U visa or T visa.
Individuals with limited English proficiency must be given access to translation or interpretation
and must receive documents in their native language if available.
415.3 FEDERAL LAW
The responsibility for enforcement of immigration laws rests solely with ICE, under the direction of
DHS.
Immigration detainers or requests, sometime called “ICE holds,” are not compulsory. Instead,
they are merely requests enforceable at the discretion of the agency holding the arrestee. Federal
regulations define immigration detainers as “requests” rather than commands.1 Courts have also
held that ICE detainers are voluntary re quests that “do not and cannot compel a state or local law
enforcement agency to detain suspected aliens subject to removal.”2 Thus, local agencies are
“free to disregard [an] ICE detainer.”3
1 8 C.F.R. § 287.7(a).
2 Galarza v. Szalczyk , 745 F.3d 634 (3rd Cir. 2014); see also Flores v. City of Baldwin Park , No. CV 14-9290-
MWF, 2015 WL 756877, at *4 (C.D. Cal. Feb. 23, 2015) (“federal law leaves compliance with immigration
holds wholly within the discretion of states and localities”).
3 Galarza, 745 F.3d at 645.
Oakland Police Department
Policy Manual
Immigration
Immigration - 2 Printed Date: 2017/06/01
© 1995 -2015 Lexipol, LLC The mere fact that an individual is unlawfully in the United States is not a criminal offense.4 Thus,
unlawful presence in the United States, by itself, does not justify continued detention beyond that
of an individual’s normal release date. This applies even where ICE or United States Customs
and Border Protection (CBP) provide an OPD officer with administrative forms that use the terms
“probable cause” or “warrant.” A lawful detention under the Fourth Amendment must be
supported by probable cause that a person has committed a crime.5
415.4 CITY POLICY
Members of OPD shall not:
Enforce or assist ICE in the enforcement of violations of civil immigration laws
Initiate investigations or use personnel or resources where the only objective is to discover
whether an individual is in violation of a civil immigration law
Detain individuals for a violation of civil immigration law6
415.5 REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE FROM DHS OR ICE
Unless the circumstanc es present an imminent danger to officer or publi c safet y, requests by
DHS or ICE for any operational assistance from OPD (including but not limited to ICE detainer
requests), shall immediately be dir ected to the w atch commander on duty for approval, who in
turn shall immediately notify the Chief of Poli ce, or the Chief’ s designee.
In the event a determination needs to be made about whether an ICE detainer request should be
fulfilled, the Chief of Police, or the Chief’s designee, shall consider the merits of each request
carefull y. In making this determination, the Chief, or Chief’s designee, shall comply with the
California TRUST Act,7 assess whether the individual poses a risk to public or officer safet y, and
consider the availability of OPD personnel and resources necessary to comply with the request.
415.6 INFORMATION SHARING
OPD does not collect any information regarding a person’s immigration status, unless the
information is gathered specifically for the purposes of completing U visa or T visa
documents.
Officers shall not share non-public information about an individual’s address, upcoming court
date, or release date with ICE or CB P. Officers shall respond to an ICE or CBP request for non -
public information only when a judicial warrant accompanies the request.
4 Arizona v. United States , 567 U.S. 387, 132 S. Ct. 2492, 2505 (2012); Melendres v. Arpaio , 695 F.3d 990,
998, 1000 (9th Cir. 2012).
5 Gerstein v.