D.C. Council bucking ICE's Secure Communities

The D.C. Council is pushing through a bill that would shorten the amount of time local police are authorized to hold illegal immigrants for the federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement before letting them free. The proposal by at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson and backed by the entire council would limit the time police can hold someone on an ICE civil detainer to 24 hours, down from the federally recommended 48 hours. The legislation comes nearly one month after Mayor Vincent Gray issued his policy on working with ICE, which included the 48-hour recommendation.

Mendelson said Tuesday that cost was a key issue for the District — roughly $128 per day is spent on each person held by the Department of Corrections.