A March arrest of a Guatemalan man sparked questions regarding Gainesville Police’s current policies surrounding notification to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of foreign nationals who may be in the country illegally.
A statement released by GPD on April 3 reported the Gainesville Police General Order 40.3 “Foreign Nationals” states, in part, “If an officer has contact with a foreign national, a contact that generates paperwork, it shall be clearly noted in the narrative section of the report. The Records Manager, or designee, is responsible for forwarding the proper information or documents to the appropriate agency, as required by federal regulations.”
The current policy does not include this statement, according to an online copy of the GPD General Order.
There are no federal laws that require local law enforcement to report foreign nationals to ICE.
GPD spokesperson Cpt. Jorge Campos said revisions are being made to the policy for the sake of clarity but have not yet been approved. He said the policies that were rewritten were more about how to interact with those whose primary language is not English.
“We don’t make notifications [to ICE] unless it’s something that’s warranted,” Campos added.
