Harris has issued a bulletin saying that compliance with the
federal government's "Secure Communities" program is voluntary, not
mandatory.
The program detains people who are arrested for any crime
until their immigration status is checked.
The A-G's office says several local law enforcement agencies
treat detainer requests as mandatory orders.
But Harris says police can decide whether to comply based on
their "public-safety priorities" or the best use of their
resources.
Legislation that would have set statewide standards in
determining when to uphold federal detainer requests was vetoed by
the Governor this year.
That bill would have prevented holding arrestees unless the
alleged crime or conviction involved a serious or violent
felony.
The Governor said the bill was flawed because it omitted many
major crimes.
The bill's sponsor is reintroducing it this session.
