(a) The District of Columbia is authorized to comply with civil detainer requests from United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) by holding inmates for an additional 24-hour period, excluding weekends and holidays, after they would otherwise be released, but only in accordance with the requirements set forth in subsection (b) of this section.
(b) Upon written request by an ICE agent to detain a District of Columbia inmate for suspected violations of federal civil immigration law, the District shall exercise discretion regarding whether to comply with the request and may comply only if:
(1) There exists a prior written agreement with the federal government by which all costs incurred by the District in complying with the ICE detainer shall be reimbursed; and
(2) The individual sought to be detained:
(A) Is 18 years of age or older; and
(B) Has been convicted of:
(i) A dangerous crime as defined in § 23-1331(3) or a crime of violence as defined in § 23-1331(4), for which he or she is currently in custody;
(ii) A dangerous crime as defined in § 23-1331(3) or a crime of violence as defined in § 23-1331(4) within 10 years of the detainer request, or was released after having served a sentence for such dangerous crime or crime of violence within 5 years of the request, whichever is later; or
(iii) A crime in another jurisdiction which if committed in the District of Columbia would qualify as an offense listed in § 23-1331(3) or (4); provided, that the conviction occurred within 10 years of the detainer request or the individual was released after having served a sentence for such crime within 5 years of the request, whichever is later.
(c) Notwithstanding subsection (b)(2)(B)(ii) and (iii) of this section, a detainer request for an individual who has been convicted of a homicide crime, pursuant to § 22-2101 et seq., or a crime in another jurisdiction which if committed in the District of Columbia would qualify as a homicide crime, may be honored regardless of when the conviction occurred.
(d)(1) The District shall not provide to any ICE agent an office, booth, or any facility or equipment for a generalized search of or inquiry about inmates or permit an ICE agent to conduct an individualized interview of an inmate without giving the inmate an opportunity to have counsel present.
(2) This subsection shall not be construed to establish a right to counsel that does not otherwise exist in law.
(June 27, 1946, ch. 507, § 7; as added Dec. 11, 2012, D.C. Law 19-194, § 2, 59 DCR 10153.)
Effect of AmendmentsThe 2012 amendment by D.C. Law 19-194 added this section.
Emergency LegislationFor temporary (90 days) addition of this section, see § 2 of the Immigration Detainer Compliance Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-475, October 9, 2012, 59 DCR 12098), applicable as of September 13, 2012.
Editor's NotesFormer § 24-211.07 was omitted from this part.