NOPD updates immigration policy amid state pressure
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NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick. Photo illustration: Axios Visuals. Photo: Chelsea Brasted/Axios
The New Orleans Police Department updated its decade-old immigration policy during Mardi Gras.
Why it matters: Immigration enforcement has become a political flashpoint in Louisiana, with Attorney General Liz Murrill pressuring New Orleans leaders over so-called "sanctuary city" policies and Mayor Helena Moreno issuing an order blocking formal ICE partnerships.
The big picture: The revised policy now directs officers to transfer people with detainers — requests from ICE asking jails to hold someone — to federal custody if the Orleans Justice Center won't hold them, writes James Finn for the Times-Picayune.
- Immigration lawyers told Finn the revision also appears to remove language barring NOPD from sharing data with ICE.
- The changes come after Murrill sent a letter in December, warning NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick that the department's 2016 policies "appear to conflict with current state law."
- She also warned that officers could face felony malfeasance charges under state law for not cooperating. The letter came as Border Patrol agents launched "Operation Catahoula Crunch" in the region.
What they're saying: "My office worked collaboratively with the leadership of NOPD to ensure that its immigration policy complies with state and federal law," Murrill said in a statement.
- NOPD in a statement late Wednesday said it "reorganized existing language" in the immigration policy and clarified supervisory responsibilities.
- "This reorganization does not expand NOPD's role in immigration enforcement," the statement says. "NOPD does not conduct civil immigration enforcement, does not make immigration determinations, does not issue or act on detainers, and does not control federal enforcement actions or jail operations."
Catch up quick: The 2016 policy generally prohibited officers from inquiring about immigration status or directly participating in federal immigration enforcement efforts, writes Verite's Bobbi-Jeanne Misick.
- It was adopted during the federal consent decree era, which ended last year.
- Kirkpatrick has been vocal throughout her tenure that immigration is a civil issue, not criminal.
- The updated policy still prohibits officers from asking about residents' immigration status, Moreno says.
The fine print: NOPD says the standalone chapter on immigration policy in its handbook was consolidated with guidance on stops and pat-downs.
- Read the updates in paragraphs 16-18. They took effect Feb. 8.
Zoom in: Moreno — the city's first Latina mayor — last week issued an executive order that prohibits NOPD from entering into 287(g) agreements with ICE to conduct enforcement operations.
- "Immigration enforcement is not the mission of the New Orleans Police Department — it never has been and it won't be under my watch," Moreno said in a statement at the time.
- The Louisiana State Police, Kenner PD, Gretna PD, Plaquemines and St. Charles sheriff's offices are among the local agencies with ICE agreements in place.
Zoom out: Murrill's office quickly fired back after the executive order.
- "The only person who could enter into this type of agreement under the mayor's authority is the superintendent of NOPD," Murrill's statement says. "It seems to me that the mayor could have just sent her an email."
What's next: It's not yet clear how often the updated policy will come into play.