Morrisey’s ICE Cooperation Shakes Immigration Law In W.Va.

Last week, Gov. Patrick Morisey announced directives for state and local law enforcement to increase immigration enforcement. This week, he signed a letter of intent to join the ICE 287(g) program, which allows for local coordination with ICE to take detained and identified illegal immigrants in local jails.

West Virginia University Immigration Law Clinic Director Alison Peck says the programs Morrisey and President Donald Trump are looking to enforce aren’t new. And the number of detentions the governor announced in January weren’t yet abnormal. But she does expect a difference in how the enforcement, and potential future policies, could impact the immigrant community as a whole.

“Honestly, the biggest change that I see is among U.S. citizens,” Peck said. “I have people that are in faith based organizations, people that are parents reaching out to me, who are very concerned about how this might affect their family or their community.”

Robert S. Whitehill, chief supervising attorney at the clinic who served as a WVU law professor for two decades, said now feels like a standout moment during his time in the immigration law field in the region.

“There was a time when immigration would not go to places of worship, schools, healthcare, institutions and courts, but now they are able to do that now, well, that means that people who are concerned about their status may avoid going to church or to a hospital or to school or even to

to court, for fear of being picked up by [ICE],” Whitehill said.

Whitehill continued that this could have reverberating implications, such as people skipping court dates for issues like domestic violence.

As for the current enforcement push, Morrisey linked immigration to fentanyl distribution. Peck says she hasn’t seen the issue come up in her practice.

Morrisey’s office pointed to his previous statements about broad-scale illegal fentanyl trade and a West Virginia Health Statistics spreadsheet of overdose deaths.

“I’ve always said fentanyl comes in through multiple ways,” Morrisey said at last week’s press conference. “It comes in through the ports of entry and between the ports of entry, and all the studies we’ve done and the work we’ve seen reflects that fact.”

Morrisey has not shown new data from the governor’s office linking the enforcement push to fentanyl distribution.
Peck pointed to free legal resources for immigrants, including the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights resources page with legal information and hotlines; The Know Your Rights 4 Immigrants app that will audibly play an English reading of rights residents retain, regardless of immigration status; the Immigrant Legal Resource Center’s red card webpage with those rights written out; and the National Immigration Law Center’s Guide for Employers.