Johnson County seeks assurances for immigrants

IOWA CITY - The climate surrounding immigration was very different a year and a half ago when Johnson County became the first in the Midwest to launch a community identification program.

The idea was to help anyone who lived in the county, particularly immigrants, feel more secure talking to law enforcement officers and navigating a daily life that requires ID for opening bank accounts, cashing checks or even sometimes joining a gym.

Since the program began, Johnson County has issued 894 of the cards, according to Mickey Miller, the county's grants and communications specialist with the Board of Supervisors.

But talk only a few years ago of comprehensive U.S. immigration reform and a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants has been turned on it head. During his campaign, now President-elect Donald Trump promised mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, a population estimated at 11 million.

He since offered more clarity in an interview with '60 Minutes” in which he said his focus initially would be on undocumented immigrants who are criminals.

'What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, where a lot of these people, probably 2 million, it could be even 3 million, we are getting them out of our country or we are going to incarcerate,” he said in the interview.

While Johnson County is hardly the nation's epicenter of immigration - illegal or otherwise - it remains one of the bluest counties in Iowa, one of only six to vote for Hillary Clinton for president. And in a place that draws thousands of international visitors a year because of the University of Iowa, the symbolism of how immigrants are treated in the community is vital to local officials.

So much so that county supervisors recently reiterated their desire to be a welcoming community with a formal resolution - and talk of officially declaring sanctuary status for immigrants is being rekindled.

Johnson County Supervisor Mike Carberry said he wants to look into what an official declaration entails.

'If we're not a sanctuary county, we should be in my opinion and I think in many others' as well,” he said. 'To me, your immigration status has no bearing on whether you're a part of our community or not.”

For the county's largest city, Iowa City, declaring sanctuary status didn't seem to fit about five years ago when it first was considered.

'We've investigated that five years ago, chose not to do it at the time, but we have set of policies in place that protect the safety and welfare of all our residents,” Mayor Jim Throgmorton said.

The council will, however, consider a resolution Tuesday in support of ensuring a safe community and rejecting active intimidation. The city recently saw a Sudanese-American family receive an intimidating note on its front door and police are investigating.

In Coralville, Mayor John Lundell said he didn't want to speak for the City Council on the issue of sanctuary status, which he said has not had that discussion.

'Unless there are issues related that directly affect the people who live and work and do business in Coralville, I don't think it would ever come up,” Lundell said.

While no formal definition of a 'sanctuary” city or county exists, it's usually considered one that goes only so far in enforcing federal laws against undocumented immigrants. Police in such a city might not, for example, ask to see papers from someone involved in a civil infraction. But an undocumented immigrant accused of a serious crime likely would be turned over for deportation.

In both Johnson and Linn counties, the sheriffs said they have not changed their policies on granting Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold requests without a court order.

In 2014, Johnson County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek and Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner said they were shifting their policies on ICE detainer requests - that the agencies would no longer keep an inmate in custody after he or she had been ordered released, posted bail or served the sentence, without having a court order from a judge. At least 25 sheriff's offices in Iowa adopted similar policies in the wake of an Oregon court case and recommendations from local county attorneys.

Both sheriffs said they still cooperate with ICE. Inmate information is shared with the agency daily and ICE agents are informed when an inmate is set for release.

'If they want to greet someone when they get out, so be it,” Pulkrabek said. 'We're not going to inhibit them from doing their job. We're going to do what the law says.”

A 2014 report by the Iowa Policy Project estimated that about 75,000 undocumented immigrants live in Iowa.

That is far lower than in California, for instance, where a quarter of the nation's estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants live. Los Angeles County alone is estimated to have 815,000.

With such numbers, it's not surprising that officials there are among the most vocally defiant of any federal effort to involve local police in an immigration roundup.

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said he had no plans to help.

'We don't make detentions or arrests based solely on status, whether that's immigration status or any other status,” Beck told radio station KNX 1070 last month. 'If the federal government takes a more aggressive role on deportation, then they'll have to do that on their own.”

Both Trump and incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus have said local governments that do not adequately cooperate face the loss of federal funds - although they have not been specific about which funds or what the threshold is.

Until more details emerge, local officials were hesitant to react.

Johnson County Board of Supervisors Chairman Rod Sullivan said that he did not necessarily want to comment on a hypothetical situation, but he did think the county would stand up for its beliefs if it came to that.

'I think that we have reason and common sense on our side,” he said.

Sheriffs Pulkrabek and Gardner noted that many things were said during the presidential campaign. Without a specific plan, the sheriffs said any future policy shifts in their operations would be speculation.

In a similar vein, Sullivan said he has heard residents ask if the community identification program would go away.

'Basically, I just told people we're not going to have anything go away if we can help it,” Sullivan said. 'We did pass a resolution a couple weeks ago just sort of reaffirming our commitment, if you will, to diversity and our support of it,”

To apply for the community ID, Johnson County residents can either submit a document like a passport, U.S. driver's license or green card; or two lesser documents like a foreign driver's license, U.S. or foreign military ID card or a school ID card, among others. A complete list can be found at johnson-county.com.

Marcela Hurdado, an Iowa City resident, has identification cards for her and her 10-year-old daughter. She said through a translator that she got the cards the first day they were available and used it for things like getting medicine at the pharmacy, checking out children's books at the library and gaining access to the Women, Infants and Children program, which supports health care and nutrition.

Hurdado and fellow Iowa City resident Maria Cachua, who also got her Johnson County ID the first day it was available and spoke through a translator, said they also can use the cards to confirm their identity when writing a check or using a credit card.

Both women were not comfortable publicly sharing their immigration status.

Sergio Irund A-wan, a Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa representative who works with the Community ID program, said he'd like to see more people applying for the cards and using them so they are more recognizable to businesses and residents.

He said the center is working to get the IDs in the hands of international students at the UI, perhaps by having a mobile unit at orientation.

Many officials said a major reason for supporting the program was increased safety. The idea is that with identification, immigrants feel more comfortable reporting a crime or reaching out to law enforcement.

'When you have an ID, most likely you will report,” A-wan said, 'You'll say something.”

The Washington Post and Lee Hermiston of The Gazette contributed to this report.