Effective July 10, a new general order was set down by Prince George’s County Chief of Police Henry Stawinski. According to the police department’s general order manual, “State and local enforcement do not have legal grounds to stop, detain, search, or arrest an individual based solely on an administrative (civil) warrant, unless they have been deputized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to do so.” Further, the county police department “has not and does not intend to be deputized” by ICE.
This order was released in response to a growing trend across the country where individuals on whom a civil warrant has been issued have encountered police in situations like a traffic stop or accident and found themselves arrested, detained or even deported. These are situations in which there are no criminal warrants on their records. This has led to traumatic family disruptions.
Entities like CASA, an immigrant advocacy group (wearecasa. org), the Peace and Justice Coalition of Prince George’s County and County Councilmember Deni Taveras brought this situation to the attention of County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. She then went to Stawinski. Yet the most persuasive element was the stories of those affected by this trend, according to CASA member Trent Leon-Lierman.
For more of this story, see the July 18 News Review.