By Associated Press - Thursday, March 9, 2017

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Juneau police will not check people’s immigration status upon their arrest or when making contact with individuals.

Juneau Police Department Chief Bryce Johnson said the department’s priority is public safety, not any individual’s immigration status, The Juneau Empire reported (https://bit.ly/2m62BbH ).

“It’s a big deal nationally, but for us here, it isn’t something we need to consume ourselves with,” Johnson said. “People committing crimes in Juneau are usually not immigrants or people you would need to consult (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) for.”

Johnson explained his department’s position in response to questions to the public in a news release on Monday.

Johnson said that if Juneau police determine a suspect is in the country illegally in the course of an investigation, that information can be shared with U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement. But he said those instances are rare.

“We want to assure undocumented individuals who are victims of crime that they can call us to make a police report,” Johnson said. “We don’t investigate immigration status in crimes like domestic violence.”

City & Borough of Juneau spokeswoman Lisa Phu said in a news release Juneau police don’t have authority to enforce immigration laws and the department isn’t part of a federal program that partners local law enforcement with ICE.

If ICE were to ask Juneau police for assistance, Johnson said he’d consider the request against the department’s available resources and priorities.

“My philosophy is to be a good law enforcement partner with our neighbors, state, and federal authorities,” he said. “If ICE were to ask us for help, we would do what we were legally able to do to help them within the context of the resources we have. This is the same answer for any other law enforcement agency looking for help from us.”

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Information from: Juneau (Alaska) Empire, https://www.juneauempire.com

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