BOP to Give ICE 'Right of First Refusal' to Immigrant Prisoners

Josh Gerstein, Politico, Feb. 24, 2015 - "Under the new policy, the federal Bureau of Prisons will put prisoners finishing their sentences into immigration custody by default when immigration authorities seek deportation, even if local or state officials want the immigrant for prosecution or to finish a state or local sentence. Immigration officials may sometimes defer to state or local authorities, but will take into account a locality's cooperation with federal deportation requests in deciding whether to hand over a prisoner. ... The Bureau of Prisons policy change involving sanctuary cities had not been widely publicized before Wednesday's hearing and was apparently first disclosed in a letter the Justice Department sent to Culberson Tuesday.  A Justice Department spokeswoman had no immediate response to questions about how the new policy was developed and when it took effect. The policy does not appear to extend beyond the Bureau of Prisons, so it would not apply to prisoners in pretrial federal custody who are acquitted, have federal charges dismissed or are released on bail."