An internal audit of the Prince William County Police Department states the county is not a “sanctuary city.”
A WJLA story posted last month stated County police did not properly notify federal Immigration and Customs (ICE) officials when they come across an illegal alien on the street. The report labeled Prince William County as a haven for illegal immigrants in the Washington area.
Prince William County in 2007 and 2008 passed some of the toughest laws on the books for illegal immigrants accused of committing crimes.
Police are permitted to arrest someone who is in the country illegally if they have committed a crime, and ICE is notified. Police must also notify ICE if they run across someone who is in the U.S. illegally but cannot arrest that person if no crime has been committed.
“This is because the Police Department has no legal authority to independently enforce Federal Immigration Law,” according to the final report issued by audit firm RSM.
It turns out police have been following proper procedure when it comes to properly notifying ICE. This year, there were 15 incidents required further investigation, three incidents last year, and eight in 2013. Procedures were followed properly in all instances, said Jennifer Mertha, of RSM, who briefed the Prince William County Board of Supervisors about the results of the audit on Tuesday.
RSM reviewed 3,000 documents from Prince William and Virginia State police departments, and then checked them against an ICE database during the audit.
Prince William County Police Chief Stephan Hudson said his public information office gave a WJLA reporter incomplete information, and that “corrective action” was taken.
More from an internal report from Prince William police:
“The WJLA report characterized the Prince William County Police Department (PWCPD) as not communicating with ICE when an officer encounters a subject with a civil or deportation warrant.
This was a result of a member of our Public Information Office not reviewing the entire General Order regarding Illegal Immigration, and a failure to consider the various methods by which we communicate with ICE, such as phone calls and Teletype Communications.
The Police Department’s General Orders on illegal immigration have been in effect since 2008, with no substantive changes. The only changes to date were minor grammatical changes and the removal of language related to the 287g agreement, which was terminated by ICE at the end of 2012.”
We have the full RSM audit and police audit reports posted.
Prince William Board of Supervisors Chairman, At-large Corey Stewart ordered the investigation following the airing of the WJLA story in November. On Tuesday, he said “wires were crossed” in this situation, accepted the report, and then adjourned the final Board of Supervisors meeting for 2015.
