AUSTIN, Texas - The Austin Police Department has revised its General Orders regarding cooperation with ICE and immigration operations.
The new orders state that Austin police officers are not authorized to make an arrest or detention based solely on an administrative warrant from ICE. APD officers are also not required to contact ICE or "unreasonably prolong a detention" in order to contact ICE.
What we know:
The new General Orders were issued by Chief Lisa Davis on Thursday.
The orders now outline the actions an officer will take if they learn that someone in their custody has an ICE administrative warrant versus an ICE detainer request.
Officers, including those working secondary jobs, are also not allowed to detain subjects of ICE administrative warrants at places of worship, hospitals, religious organizations, school districts, or open-enrollment charter schools "unless exigent circumstances exist which require an immediate intervention of law enforcement to protect public safety," say the new orders.
The revised orders, however, do still require APD officers to comply with ICE detainer requests in accordance with state law and APD policy.
The revisions were requested due to the fact that the original policy did not specify the difference between an ICE detainer and an ICE administrative warrant, according to paperwork obtained by FOX 7 Austin.
The revised orders define them as the following:
- ICE detainer: Written request issued by ICE to state or local police or jailers who have custody of a person subject to deportation to keep that person in custody for 48 hours beyond the time they would otherwise be released; could be accompanied by an administrative warrant
- ICE administrative warrant: Issued by a federal immigration official with probable cause that an individual is unlawfully present in the United States and may be subject to deportation; however, they are not reviewed or issued by a court or magistrate and thus have limited legal authority
Excerpts from the General Orders related to ICE:
What they're saying:
Two Austin City Council members, José Velásquez and José "Chito" Vela, issued a joint statement about the new orders, saying:
"The revised General Orders announced by APD today are a major step forward to ensuring that Austin is a safe and welcoming city for all. We thank Chief Davis for including Council offices in drafting the language, and we are grateful to the community members and civil rights attorneys that provided guidance.
We now have clear direction for our police that they cannot make an arrest or prolong a detention solely based on an ICE administrative warrant and that contacting ICE is NOT required.
Additionally, officers must have permission at high levels in the chain of command if they are considering detaining someone, which will not be granted if it is not a responsible use of limited police resources, does not contribute to overall public safety, or discourages victims or witnesses of crime from coming forward.
Critical next steps remain, and we will continue our work to ensure that everyone's rights and the rule of law are respected."
Dig deeper:
The changes come after the Austin Police Department contacted ICE regarding a five-year-old and her mother who were taken into custody in the Oak Hill community in January.
APD said that on Jan. 5 at around 4:35 a.m. that officers responded to a disturbance call in the 6100 block of Blue Stem Trail. Officers investigated and found no disturbance and no injuries.
At the time, APD said that during the course of the response, officers identified a person with an ICE administrative warrant.
APD notified ICE and federal authorities arrived and took custody of the woman and her child.
Génesis Ester Gutiérrez Castellanos
The five-year-old was identified as Génesis Ester Gutiérrez Castellanos, by the group Grassroots Leadership, who said her family was looking for help finding her in order to take custody of her.
According to the family, Génesis is a U.S. citizen.
Grassroots Leadership said in January that apparently no effort was made to contact family members or involve CPS before turning Génesis and her mother over to ICE.
The Source: Information in this report comes from the Austin Police Department, a joint statement by José "Chito" Vela and José Velásquez and previous reporting by FOX 7 Austin