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District of Columbia Code Division IV. Criminal Law and Procedure and Prisoners. § 24-211.07. Prohibition on cooperation with federal immigration agencies.

Current as of January 01, 2024 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(a) Absent a judicial warrant or order issued by a federal judge appointed pursuant to Article III of the United States Constitution or a federal magistrate judge appointed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 631 that authorizes a federal immigration agency to take into custody the person who is the subject of such warrant or order, the District of Columbia shall not:

(1) Hold an individual in the District's custody after that individual would have been otherwise released, except as provided in § 24-211.02a(c)(6);

(2) Provide to any federal immigration agency an office, booth, or any facility or equipment for a generalized search of or inquiry about an individual in the District's custody;

(3) Permit any federal immigration agency to interview an individual in the District's custody unless:

(A) The federal immigration agency presents a judicial order authorizing the interview, or the interview is requested by the detained individual; and

(B) The detained individual has counsel present or knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily declines to have counsel present for the interview; or

(4) Except with respect to individuals awaiting trial or sentencing for a federal criminal charge or serving a sentence for a federal criminal charge:

(A) Provide to any federal immigration agency a space in a District detention facility to house, detain, or hold individuals for civil immigration enforcement purposes;

(B) Provide to a federal immigration agency an individual's date and time of release, location, address, personal identifying information, medical information, photograph, or criminal case information;

(C) Grant any federal immigration agency access to any District detention facility or place, including a facility under the control of the Department of Corrections, the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, the Department of Behavioral Health, or the Metropolitan Police Department, for the purpose of releasing an individual into federal custody; or

(D) Release an individual for the purpose of transferring the individual into the custody of any federal immigration agency.

(b) The District shall not inquire into the immigration status of an individual in its custody.

(c) The District shall conduct trainings of its employees on compliance with the provisions in this section.

(d) The Department of Corrections, the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, the Department of Behavioral Health, and the Metropolitan Police Department shall transmit a report on January 1 of each year to the Mayor and the Council providing the following:

(1) The number of requests for information or detainer made by a federal immigration agency, a breakdown of whether the requests were made regarding individuals held on local charges or on federal charges, whether the request was accompanied by a judicial warrant, and any action taken by the District agency in response to such a request;

(2) The number of individuals released into the custody of a federal immigration agency, the date of each release, and the justification for each release; and

(3) The types of information, anonymized and aggregated, that the agency shared with federal immigration agencies and whether it was at the request of a federal immigration agency.

(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to establish a right to counsel that does not otherwise exist in law.

(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to create a private right of action.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - District of Columbia Code Division IV. Criminal Law and Procedure and Prisoners. § 24-211.07. Prohibition on cooperation with federal immigration agencies. - last updated January 01, 2024 | https://codes.findlaw.com/dc/division-iv-criminal-law-and-procedure-and-prisoners/dc-code-sect-24-211-07/

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