Tulsa County commissioners approved the continued participation of the Sheriff’s Office in a controversial U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement program Monday over objections that it contributes to profiling and mistrust of local law enforcement.
Commissioner John Smaligo and First Deputy Vicki Adams, sitting in for Commissioner Ron Peters, voted to renew a memorandum of agreement with ICE for its 287g program, which utilizes local law officers to identify undocumented residents for deportation proceedings.
Commissioner Karen Keith voted no, saying she wanted more information about who is actually being detained under the program.
ICE officials said the program targets criminals and willful immigration law violators, but the dozen or so individuals who spoke against it Monday said most of those arrested and deported are charged with minor infractions.
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Tulsa County is one of 32 local law enforcement agencies participating in the 287g program; the Tulsa Jail also has a separate agreement to hold ICE detainees from throughout the U.S.
Despite the strife over illegal immigration in recent years — and even during the current presidential campaign — no one except an ICE official and Sheriff Vic Regalado spoke in favor of the agreement.
“(Section) 287 deals with people who are committing crimes,” Regalado said. “You have to wind up at (the jail), arrested by a police agency, to fall under 287g.”
The definition of “crime,” however, causes considerable disagreement. The program is often sold as a means of ridding the streets of violent criminals, but every analysis over the past decade has found most of those detained nationally are arrested and deported on relatively minor charges.
Crimes deemed sufficient to trigger deportation proceedings have included fishing without a license and giving the wrong address to a 911 operator after being shot.
Smaligo said his review of Tulsa Jail records indicates that while many detainees were initially stopped for minor traffic violations, they ultimately were charged with more serious infractions, usually involving drugs or alcohol.
He said he’s heard stories about people being deported for minor infractions, but hasn’t seen substantiation.
“I’ve been looking at this really closely the last week or so and I haven’t seen that,” Smaligo said. “I’m not saying it doesn’t happen … but I haven’t seen it.”
Several people speaking Monday said they have been subjected to unwarranted traffic stops and searches because of their appearance.
“It’s hard to be Hispanic in Tulsa, Oklahoma,” said Tony Dominguez, a man with dark brown skin and dark, curly hair. “It’s especially hard if you’re Hispanic and you look Middle Eastern. Police look at my face and I get pulled over for no reason.
“If we break the law, we’ll pay for it. But if we’re going to be harassed for no reason. Stop. Leave us alone.”
Regalado, a Hispanic who until his election as sheriff two months ago worked in the Tulsa Police Department gangs and homicide units, and Jesse Guardiola, TPD’s Hispanic liaison and Hispanic recruitment officer, brought different perspectives to the argument.
Regalado, who for years dealt with drug dealers and murderers, said only a “small portion” of immigrants are unduly fearful of law enforcement.
“It’s incumbent on us to communicate to the community what this program is and what it means to them,” Regalado said. “It’s about preventing crime.”
Guardiola, who speaks to school and community groups and tries to recruit Hispanics to the Tulsa Police Department ranks, said programs such as 287g make his job more difficult.
“A 9-year-old boy asked me, ‘If Donald Trump is elected president, will the Tulsa police come and take my family?’”
