by Catherine Smith
Immigration and Customs Enforcement(ICE) served immigration subpoenas to the State of Connecticut demanding information on three criminal illegal aliens, whom local officials refused to hand over and instead released back into the community, ICE said in a statement.
“ICE subpoenaed the State of Connecticut Court Support Services Division for information on three foreign nationals, all the convicted criminals are living in the U.S. illegally. They were all arrested, but subsequently released because of state laws that prohibit cooperation with the agency,” The Daily Caller reports.
Subpoenas are becoming a common action by ICE as it escalates its fight with “sanctuary” jurisdictions refusing to honor their detainer requests.
“It’s unfortunate that elected officials in Connecticut seem unable to grasp the public safety threat posed by the criminal illegal aliens these officials are attempting to shield,” Todd Lyons, the acting field office director of ICE’s Boston office, said in a statement.
“These are the same criminals who’ve already been arrested for crimes by state and/or local law enforcement, often perpetrated against the very immigrant communities these officials claim to be protecting. Despite these short-sighted, reckless ‘sanctuary-for-criminal-aliens’ policies, ICE will continue to use all available legal tools to safeguard the public.”
According to their statement, ICE is using every tool available to obtain information regarding the whereabouts and other relevant information regarding removable aliens from jurisdictions that chose to, or are unable to, cooperate with ICE.
The ACLU of Connecticut fired back at ICE late Thursday, arguing immigration authorities are trying to bully Connecticut into participating in a “cruel deportation agenda.”
The Daily Caller writes, leaders of “sanctuary” localities and states have increasingly demanded a judicial warrant for detainers, but ICE and immigration experts have repeatedly said it is not needed and that judicial warrants, in fact, don’t “exist” in the case for detainers.
“ICE has not historically needed to use its lawful authority to issue these subpoenas to obtain information from other law enforcement agencies as most law enforcement agencies throughout the country willingly provide ICE with information regarding aliens arrested for crimes in the interest of public safety,” the agency said.
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Catherine Smith is a regular contributor to American Greatness.
