Feds Keep Deporting Immigrants Despite Local Policies

Oh, but this administration is much easier on border policy

Mexican immigrant Josemaria Islas finally settled a misdemeanor charge against him, only to find himself in federal custody and headed for possible deportation—exactly the situation that Gov. Dannel Malloy's immigrant-arrest policy was meant to avoid.

Following Malloy's direction, the state Department of Corrections (DOC) in April instituted a new procedure to handle requests under federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) "Secure Communities" program, which seeks to deport undocumented immigrants who are arrested by local police. The new DOC protocol states that ICE requests to detain arrested immigrants would be honored only if the person met one of several criteria, including being a convicted felon, a known gang member, or on a terrorist watch list.

In other words, Dan Malloy's Connecticut wouldn't help the feds deport people like Josemaria Islas, a 34-year-old New Havener.