Sheriff to educate law enforcement on immigration policy
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Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins intends to educate other county law enforcement agencies about his department’s new policy that allows deputies to check the immigration status of those they arrest. Jenkins (R) said he will soon meet with the Brunswick, Thurmont and Frederick police departments, as well as the Frederick County State’s Attorney to educate them on the new immigration policy. ‘‘We will be explaining to the chiefs in Brunswick, Thurmont and Frederick city on what it is all about and how it will work,” Jenkins said. The sheriff said he will brief the departments on how the immigration policy will impact their jurisdictions and their officers. Since a the majority of the county’s Hispanics live in the City of Frederick, Frederick Police Chief Kim Dine said he welcomes the briefing. Dine said his department, through its ‘‘Community Policing” efforts, has worked hard to establish trust in the Hispanic community. He hopes the sheriff’s new policy will not negatively impact those efforts. ‘‘We’re working really hard at those efforts,” he said. Dine said he knows that immigrants living in Frederick are worried about the new policy. He believes many who are in the country illegally will go ‘‘underground ‘‘ to avoid arrest, and that those who are here legally worry that they’ll become targets of law enforcement. ‘‘All these are things to be concerned about,” he said. ‘‘… This is not new to the life of an immigrant. It’s all totally understandable.” In February, Jenkins announced that his department was accepted into the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 287G program, which allows deputies to check the immigration status of those they arrest. In March, 26 deputies graduated from four weeks of training in immigration law, intercultural relations and the use of the Department of Homeland Security’s database to identify whether those they arrest are illegal immigrants. Jenkins said the database should be up and running in a few weeks. |