Geneseo Police Department ‘Subject’ | mmigration Law — Alien Procedures effective: May 4, 2017 Standard Number(s) Rescinded: ‘Amended Chief Policy: Effective law enforcement must be void of any bias based on age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, miitary status, sex, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, ‘marital status, domestic violence victim status, gender identification or expression, ethnic andlor economic status or the fact that the person speaks a foreign language. Such bias is illegal and inconsistent with democratic ideals, values, and principles of American policing and is not in any way a legitimate or defensible public protection strategy. Furthermore, its in direct conflict with the mission and values of the Geneseo Police Department (GPD) Itis the policy of the GPD that officers will not make referrals to federal authorities in cases where they develop information of suspected civil immigration violations unless there is reason to suspect a violation of criminal law. Officers will not contact federal authorities in order to facilitate a language interpreter when there is not a reason to suspect a criminal violation. Instead, officers in need of an interpreter will either contact the 911 Center (Policy 098) and request the use of an interpreter or use a list of interpreters provided by the Chief of Police, ‘Although the vast majority of cases you encounter will involve situations where there is no reason to suspect a person has unlawfully entered the country, it is important to be able to distinguish between the civil case of an illegal alien and the criminal case of an unlawful entrant. Federal law differentiates between illegal aliens and untawful entrants. - Those aliens who enter the country by legal means and remain longer that they should are considered illegal aliens, which is a civil violation, = Those aliens who enter the country by illegal or fraudulent means are considered unlawful entrants, which is a crime and under CPL section 140.10 you have the authority to investigate. While you have the authority to investigate federal crimes under CPL 140.10, you have no authority to investigate civil violations of federal law. Nor is there any obligation or duty to contact federal authorities upon the discovery of a civil violation of the federal immigration laws. GPD 098 Page 1 of 34, legal Aliens (Civil) ‘A. Generally, a person who is not a citizen of the United States is an alien (non-citizen) and all aliens are subject to the immigration laws which regulate their entry into the country and set conditions for their stay. Certain aliens you encounter will not be criminal cases. A person who enters the United States by legal means such as on a work permit, as a student or as a tourist and who stays longer than allowed by federal immigration laws ‘commits a civil violation and becomes an illegal alien. Likewise, a person who legally entered the United States and subsequently violates the conditions of his/her admission has committed a civil violation. These matters are handled exclusively by the federal ‘government. 1. The GPD will not use its personnel for the purpose of apprehending aliens suspected or wanted only for committing a civil immigration offense B. As these are not criminal offenses, officers have no authority to take any police action solely because the person is an illegal alien. This includes identifying, questioning, detaining or demanding to inspect federal immigration documentation, 4. As applied to drivers, when a suspected alien produces a foreign driver's license and Vehicle registration during a traffic stop, there is no authority under New York State law to request immigration documentation or to inquire into the person's immigration status. Ifthe driver is unable to produce a valid license, you may request that the person produce another form of verifiable, government issued identification. While faliure to produce a license may raise the presumption that the person is unlicensed, it does not provide reasonable suspicion to believe that the person has entered the country untawfully b. If the motorist produces immigration documents in order to assist in the identification process, you may inspect them in order to facilitate the issuance of a traffic ticket. Ifthe motorist is unable or unwilling to produce any identification, you should treat the encounter in the same manner as any other vehicle stop where the ‘motorist is unable to produce identification; you may take the motorist into custody for the purpose of confirming identification, not for the purpose of investigating the person's immigration status. 4. Ifthe motorist falls to provide documents sufticient to identify them, or the documents produced by the motorist are unable to be verified and/or appear suspect, the officer wll contact a supervisor for assistance. . Ifthe supervisor advises to continue detainment on a traffic stop the officer may request for the subject(s) to go to GPD headquarters due to roadside safety concerns, 1. In circumstances where proper identification cannot be made the supervisor may advise the officer to contact a federal, state or local government entity solely for assistance in identifying the motorist 2. As applied to vehicle passengers - Even when you stop a vehicle containing a passenger who you believe may be an illegal alien, you have no authority to demand identification documents from that passenger unless there is reason to believe that the person is involved in criminal activity or has committed an infraction (ie. not wearing a ‘seatbelt or possessing an open container in the vehicle) GPD 096 Page 2 of 33. As applied to other situations- If you encounter a person during a police call, an incident or a request for assistance, who you believe to be an ilegal alien, there is no authority to demand identification documents or immigration papers from that person(s) Cr to inquire into the person's immigration status unless you have reason to believe thatthe person is involved in criminal activity 4. Consistent with the established principles of state law with respect to police-citizen encounters, you may not ask intrusive questions unrelated to the reason for the encounter, unless there is founded suspicion of criminal activity. C. Avictim of a crime has a right to receive the assistance of all police services, including ‘access to any victim's rights program or protections generally available to crime victims, regardless of the victim's immigration status as either an illegal alien or unlawful entrant. Such status is irrelevant to the level of service that the victim of a crime shall receive, 2. Unlawful Entrants (Criminal) ‘A. Although itis not a criminal offense merely to be in the United States as an illegal alien, it is a crime to unlawfully enter the country under 8 U.S.C. 1326. 4. Unlawful entrants who come into the United States in a manner or place to avoid detection and examination by federal authorities commit a crime for which you may arrest. (@) Although immigration statutes are entirely federal sections of law, NYS law provides you with the authority to arrest an individual when you have reasonable cause to believe that a person has committed an offense, including a federal crime. Refer to CPL section 140.10, 2. You may not detain a person for this offense unless you have determined that there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the person has unlawfully entered the country (2) You may not detain the person while you attempt to determine whether or not reasonable suspicion exists. The person may be detained only if tere is independent authority for detention (traffic stop, unrelated criminal investigation, etc.) 3, After determining that there is reasonable suspicion or probable cause that the subject entered the country unlawfully, you will be justified detaining the individual and contacting a supervisor. The supervisor may advise the officer to contact federal authorities and share information about the criminal investigation with them, (a) Regional ICE or Border Patrol Office or any federal, state or local agency may be contacted related to a criminal investigation, () If the supervisor advises to continue detainment on a traffic stop the officer may request for the subject(s) to go to GPD headquarters due to roadside safety concerns 3. Immigration Agreements Unless approved by the Village Board, the GPD wil not enter into a 287(g) agreement with the Department of Homeland Security. The 287(g) program deputizes local law enforcement officers to act as federal immigration agents to perform federal civil immigration law enforcement functions. GPD 096 Page 3 of 3