By Dan Murphy
A long simmering feud between Westchester County Government and the Federal Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, (ICE), heated up again after ICE’s NY Director accused Westchester politicians of “passing laws that protect the criminal alien over their safety and forces their police department to release this violent criminal,” while County Executive George Latimer accused ICE of not doing their job and seeking a court order and federal warrant to hold the individual in the middle of the debate.
The facts of the case are that on June 25, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) deportation officers arrested a Brazilian national illegally present in the U.S. in the City of Port Chester.
While conducting a targeted enforcement action in Port Chester, New York, ERO deportation officers assigned to ERO-New York’s Newburgh Sub-Office arrested 36-year-old Cherlle Francisco Das Neves, a convicted criminal alien who has pending criminal charges.
Das Neves, who illegally entered the U.S. at an undetermined time and location, was arrested last December by the Village of Port Chester Police Department and charged with third-degree assault with intent to cause serious physical injury; acts in a manner injurious to a child less than 17 years old; and criminal mischief with intent to damage property.
ICE- ERO deportation officers then lodged a detainer with the Westchester County Department of Corrections (WCDC) requesting that Das Neves be held for a pending deportation. But because of Westchester County’s Immigrant Protection Act, passed in 2018, ICE was required to obtain a federal warrant to have Westchester law enforcement hold Das Neves.
ICE never got the warrant and Das Neves was released and returned to Port Chester without incident until his apprehension by ICE last month.
The rest of this story is an exchange of press releases, between ICE and Westchester County. “Westchester County government operated legally, within its responsibilities under New York State Law and it was the Federal Government that failed to properly follow the law and obtain a federal judicial warrant. The Port Chester Village Court remanded this individual for incarceration at the County Jail until tried in Port Chester. The County then held that individual as required by State Law,” reads a release from County Executive George Latimer.
“ICE compounded their behavior by asserting that Westchester County released the individual into the “public”, when in fact the County’s Department of Correction returned the individual, under police guard, to the local Court which remanded him to us for their action.
County Executive George Latimer said: “ICE is well aware that the County will turn over any individual to their custody if they deliver a Federal Judicial Warrant that supersedes a State or Local Court. ICE failed to do their job, failing to request over a month’s time, a warrant from the Federal Court, which is located two blocks away from the County Office Building. In so doing, they place their authority as a non-judicial Administrative entity above those sworn to judicial authority.”
ICE -ERO NY Field Director Thomas Decker said, “I’m sure the concerned citizens of Westchester County have questions about why their local government passed a law that protects the criminal alien over their safety and forces their police department to release this violent criminal – with pending criminal charges – back into their community. What local politicians should realize is that failing to honor detainers may create additional challenges for ICE to arrest and remove criminals like Das Neves.
But more importantly, failing to honor the detainers ultimately makes our communities less safe because these criminals are released back into the same streets to continue to commit violent crimes against the public. Thankfully, NYC ERO Officers are protecting the community and Das Neves will remain in ICE custody pending a hearing before an immigration judge.”
Latimer fired back, stating, “This ideology-centered enforcement of ICE, whereby they feel empaneled to override local Courts and laws should be concerning to all citizens. Once society allows unelected, appointed agents to feel they can override due process for some, it is a short walk to override due process for others. Tyranny starts in small ways before it becomes oppressive in its control; a fake news press release cannot cover the continual actions of an agency that refuses to follow the laws of New York in administering their brand of politicized policing.”
The debate over the Immigrant Protection Act in Westchester is over. It was passed three years ago, and there are clearly not even close to enough votes to override it. The County Executive is in complete support of the IPA and has made a rational explanation about the way that ICE could resolve their trouble over the release of undocumented, or illegal residents in Westchester County that they wish to deport.
ICE can obtain a Federal warrant, and, as Latimer has explained, ICE could go into Federal Court in White Plains with warrant requests for a number of persons of interest, and a judge, if so inclined, could sign those warrants. Only then will Westchester law enforcement hold that person for ICE. ICE has refused to go into court to obtain these warrants.
