WashingToneLocian Wrote:
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> Sorry. I hadn't seen the link to Muehler v. Mena
> (2005). She was asked about her immigration status
> because she was associated with a gang tied to the
> illegal immigrant community. Technically, Prince
> William county doesn't even need an ordinance to
> do this kind of questioning of suspects and should
> be doing it already. The problem with the new
> ordinance is that it gives police the leeway to
> ask anyone if they are an illegal immigrant based
> on "probable cause" not linked to the specific
> crime at hand. That is a violation of the 4th
> Amendment.
The Supreme Court Ruled that officers do not need probable cause when asking a detained person about their immigration status.
Specifically, the court stated: "The Court of Appeals also determined that the officers violated Mena's Fourth Amendment rights by questioning her about her immigration status during the detention. 332 F. 3d, at 1264-1266. This holding, it appears, was premised on the assumption that the officers were required to have independent reasonable suspicion in order to question Mena concerning her immigration status because the questioning constituted a discrete Fourth Amendment event. But the premise is faulty. We have "held repeatedly that mere police questioning does not constitute a seizure." Florida v. Bostick, 501 U. S. 429, 434 (1991); see also INS v. Delgado, 466 U. S. 210, 212 (1984). "[E]ven when officers have no basis for suspecting a particular individual, they may generally ask questions of that individual; ask to examine the individual's identification; and request consent to search his or her luggage." Bostick, supra, at 434-435 (citations omitted). As the Court of Appeals did not hold that the detention was prolonged by the questioning, there was no additional seizure within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. Hence, the officers did not need reasonable suspicion to ask Mena for her name, date and place of birth, or immigration status."
If the officers did not need "reasonable suspicion," they certainly did not need "probable cause." The Supreme Court did not say that because Mena was associated with illegal gangs, it made it OK. they said it was OK in any lawful detention.
Please re-read the case and then compare it to the ordinance in Prince William County located here:
http://www.pwcgov.org/docLibrary/PDF/006881.pdf . It appears to be in step with the Mena decision. According to the aforementioned case, probable cause is immaterial during a lawful detention when asking about status, I think it is an extra shred of protection put in because of an abundance of caution to ensure it withstands a constitutional challenge. I would also urge you to look at the 287(g) programs mentioned by Flarefax earlier.