'Legally unchallengeable': ICE to deputize police in sanctuary cities to detain illegals

Homeland Security officials announced a program Monday that they said will give some police a way to duck sanctuary city policies and still cooperate with ICE by turning over illegal immigrants for deportation. The plan, announced jointly with Florida sheriffs, would train local police and deputies to arrest people in their prisons and jails based on federal immigration warrants and hold them for up to two days, giving time for deportation officers to collect them. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri was the first to sign on. He said he will send 40 deputies for training — enough to make sure at least one is on duty to serve a warrant should U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement alert the department to a target. “It is easy to implement, and it is legally unchallengeable,” Sheriff Gualtieri said. ICE said it will welcome any department across the nation to the Warrant Service Officer program. It is a particularly good option for sheriffs and police chiefs with small budgets who can’t afford to pay for full training under the current 287(g) program, or for those burdened by sanctuary policies but want to cooperate with federal officials...MORE