Impact of Sheriff McDonnell greenlighting ICE agents in LA county jails

ADELANTO, CA - NOVEMBER 15: Immigrants prepare to be unshackled and set free from the Adelanto Detention Facility on November 15, 2013 in Adelanto, California. The center, the largest and newest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), detention facility in California, houses an average of 1,100 immigrants in custody pending a decision in their immigration cases or awaiting deportation. The facility is managed by the private GEO Group. ICE detains an average of 33,000 undocumented immigrants in more than 400 facilities nationwide. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell said deputies in county jails would continue to abide by California’s Trust Act when determining how they cooperate with federal immigration agents.

Immigration rights groups this morning are protesting a new policy allowing agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement access to inmates in LA County jails.

In a letter to the county's governing board, Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell said deputies in county jails would continue to abide by California’s Trust Act when determining how they cooperate with federal immigration agents who seek to deport men and women who don't have legal immigration status and are found guilty of crimes.’ AirTalk will debate the new policies’

For more on this story from KPCC, click HERE.

Guest:

Melissa Keaney, Staff Attorney, Los Angeles office of the National Immigration Law Centre

Mark Krikorian, Executive Director, Center for Immigration Studies