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Police chiefs in the two largest Sun Chronicle communities say their departments have not detained undocumented immigrants for federal authorities unless they have committed crimes.

We havent had an issue, North Attleboro Police Chief John Reilly said.

Reilly said he knows of no other chief that has made it a policy of detaining undocumented immigrants solely on the wishes of federal immigration authorities.

About six months ago, Reilly said he met with officials of the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and assured them his department had no policy of detaining undocumented immigrants who have not been charged with crimes.

The police department has arrested suspects for drug distribution and other serious crimes who are later found to be wanted by federal authorities, he said.

But not solely for immigration issues, according to the police chief.

Similarly, Attleboro Police Chief Kyle Heagney said the recent decision by the state Supreme Judicial Court preventing police from detaining people suspected of being in the country illegally will have no drastic effect on his department.

Heagney said police do notify the U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement when the suspects are sex offenders, have committed a violent felony or are gang members or suspected terrorists.

Our policy is that unless an illegal alien is in one of those four categories, Heagney said, we will not take any overt action.

He added, I think it is safe to say that no community would want one of the four category persons within their community as a legal citizen or not.

Some have called for changes in the law to allow local police to act on behalf of federal agencies to help apprehend people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally.

For instance, Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson is lobbying to change the law.

In addition, the head of the Boston field office of ICE said the SJC ruling puts communities at risk.

The ruling said police officers in the state do not have the power to arrest someone not facing criminal charges, even if federal authorities have requested their detention.

C.M. Cronen, the ICE Boston field office director, said in a statement this ruling weakens local law enforcement agencies ability to protect their communities.

He says ICE is reviewing the decision to determine its next steps.

The decision came in the case of Sreynuon Lunn, who was detained by court officers in February even though criminal charges against him had been dismissed.

David Linton may be reached at 508-236-0338.

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Attleboro area police chiefs say high court ruling on detaining illegal immigrants not an issue - The Sun Chronicle

A federal judge in Michigan has blocked indefinitely the deportation of 1,400 Iraqi illegal immigrants, a decision that allows them to challenge their removal in federal courts.

U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith granted late Tuesday a preliminary injunction that lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had previously requested on behalf of a group of the Iraqis, reports CBS News. He said the suspension would give the illegal immigrants time to appeal their orders of removal, which immigration authorities suddenly enforced following a decision by Iraq in March to once again accept repatriation of its citizens.

In a 24-page order, Goldsmith argued that the governments interest in deporting the Iraqi illegal aliens, many of whom are Kurds or Chaldean Christians, does not outweigh concerns that they could face persecution in their native country.

Each petitioner faces the risk of torture or death on the basis of residence in America and publicized criminal records. Many will also face persecution as a result of a particular religious affiliation, he wrote. While cost and efficiency in administering the immigration system are not illegitimate governmental concerns, such interests pale to the point of evaporation when weighed against the potential lethal harm petitioners may suffer.

The injunction comes two weeks after Goldsmith found he had the authority to suspend deportations of the Iraqi nationals. In that ruling, the judge said many of the Iraqis never challenged their removal because doing so would have been a purely academic exercise given Iraqs previous stance on accepting repatriated citizens. (RELATED:Federal Judge Rules He Can Block Deportation Of Iraqi Illegal Immigrants)

There are 1,444 Iraqi nationals who have final deportation orders currently living in the U.S., reports Reuters. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained about 200 of them, mostly in the Detroit metro area, during a targeted operation in June. All of those arrested had previous criminal convictions, many for serious crimes ranging from homicide to weapons and drug charges, according to ICE officials.

The ACLU sued on behalf of the detainees on June 15, arguing they could face torture or death because they were members of groups that had historically faced persecution in Iraq. Government lawyers countered that the Iraqis will not be deported to areas of the country where they are likely to face hostility.

This court and petitioners rely primarily on conditions in ISIS-controlled territory to establish harm, but no alien would be removed to that part of Iraq, Department of Justice lawyer William Silvis said in a court filing last week, according to CBS News.

Goldsmith has sided with the ACLU in multiple rulings following the initial challenge. Under Mondays order, immigration authorities must provide bi-weekly reports to the ACLU about each Iraqi in ICE custody.

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Federal Judge Blocks Deportation Of 1400 Iraqi Illegal Immigrants - The Daily Caller

[Sundays] tragedy is why I made passing Senate Bill 4 to ban sanctuary cities which is now law a top priority, the Republican Lt. Governor posted on Facebook. Sanctuary cities entice people to believe they can come to America and Texas and live outside the law. Sanctuary cities also enable human smugglers and cartels.

Initially, eight people lost their lives from exposure to the heat and lack of water after human smugglers left 39 people locked in the back of a refrigerated trailer with a failed air conditioner. The death toll rose to nine later on Sunday and then to 10 early Monday.

[T]hese people paid a terrible price and demonstrate why we need a secure border and legal immigration reform so we can control who enters our country, Patrick wrote. We continue to pray for the families and friends of the victims.

Officials identified the driver of the truck as 60-year-old James Mathew Bradley, Breitbart Texas reported. He is a resident of Clearwater, Florida, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Texas. He is due in court Monday to face charges that will likely include murder and human smuggling.

Walmart employees became aware of the peoplebeing trapped in the trailer after one of the aliens approached them and asked for water. Police arrived at the scene shortly after midnight Sunday morning. At least 29 fire rescue units responded and two AirLIFE helicopters assisted in transporting the most critically ill patients.

Surveillance cameras showed a number of automobiles coming to pick up individuals in the trailer. Authorities suspect a human smuggling operation was underway.

Medical teams transportednearly two dozen people to local hospitals, including two 15-year-old males. All of the deceased illegal aliens are reported to be adult males.

Bob Priceserves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter@BobPriceBBTXandFacebook.

P.S. DO YOU WANT MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE DELIVERED RIGHT TO YOUR INBOX?SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY BREITBART NEWSLETTER.

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10 Illegal Aliens Are Dead Because of Sanctuary Cities, Says Texas Lt. Governor - Breitbart News

BOSTON (Reuters) - Massachusetts police do not have the authority to detain illegal immigrants solely to buy time for federal law enforcement officials to take them into custody, the state's top court ruled on Monday.

The decision amounts to a rejection of requests by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency for courts and law enforcement agencies to hold illegal immigrants, who are facing civil deportation orders, in custody for up to 48 hours after their cases are resolved.

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled that doing so amounts to a fresh arrest of the person that is not authorized by state law, in the first such ruling to apply to an entire state, according to Massachusetts' attorney general.

"Massachusetts law provides no authority for Massachusetts court officers to arrest and hold an individual solely on the basis of a Federal civil immigration detainer, beyond the time that the individual would otherwise be entitled to be released from State custody," the court wrote in its decision.

The case focused on Sreynuon Lunn from Cambodia. Federal officials said he entered the United States as a refugee in 1985 and was ordered deported to Cambodia in 2008 after a series of criminal convictions. Cambodia declined to accept him and he was released.

Lunn was arrested in Boston last year on an unarmed robbery charge and ordered released in February after prosecutors failed to present a case.

Federal ICE officials took him into custody while he remained in his holding cell, an event that made his case moot. The court agreed to hear the case on the premise that the issue would come up again.

The U.S. Justice Department had argued that the 48-hour detainer requests reflected basic practices of cooperation between various law enforcement agencies.

Attorneys for Lunn and the state had largely agreed that Massachusetts lacked the authority.

"This decision allows local law enforcement to focus their resources on keeping people safe," said Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, in a statement.

U.S. President Donald Trump has made cracking down on illegal immigration a top priority of his administration.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts praised the decision.

"At a timewhen the Trump administrationis pushing aggressive and discriminatory immigration enforcement policies, Massachusetts is leading nationwide efforts by limiting how state and local lawenforcement assist," the group's executive director, Carol Rose, said in a statement.

ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by David Gregorio and Phil Berlowitz

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Massachusetts cannot hold immigrants so US can detain them: state top court - Reuters

A 20-year-old man accused of torching a North Carolina apartment building that left 130 people homeless last week was in the U.S. illegally, the sheriff's office told theCharlotte Observer.

Jesus Reyes Lopez, who was arrested Thursday in connection with the fire at the Woodscape Apartments, is an illegal immigrant from Mexico and is wanted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the paper reported.

He will likely be deported no matter the outcome of his arson and attempted murder case, according to the paper.

Police say 40 apartments were damaged as a result of the fire Monday, leaving the 130 residents without a place to live.

Sources told a local TV news outlet that Lopez set the fire as an act of revenge against an ex-girlfriend and the fire got out of control, the Observer reported.

The Red Cross was working to find new homes for the displaced residents.

Seven people were hospitalized trying to escape the fire.

Residents reportedpeople dropping children from the third floor of the building because the stairwell was on fire, blocking their escape, Fox 46 Charlotte reported.

Lopez was jailed on a $1 million bail.

Authorities checked his immigration status when he was booked into the jail, the Observer reported.

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NC apartment fire suspect was in the country illegally, report says - Fox News