ICE criticizes ruling restricting use of immigrant databases
KEVIN FREKING and NOMAAN MERCHANT
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday criticized a judge's ruling barring his agency from relying solely on databases that have at times led to the wrongful detention of American citizens.
Speaking Thursday at the White House, Matthew Albence called the September ruling an example of "judicial overreach" that threatened public safety.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge André Birotte Jr. bars ICE from issuing requests known as "detainers" based solely on database searches considered to be unreliable. It applies to states that do not explicitly authorize civil immigration arrests using detainers.
ICE cross-checks jail rosters around the U.S. with federal databases that track peo