Last year, Elionidas Najera-Perez was arrested by Norwood police three times for allegedly operating under the influence and without a license. And each time, federal immigration authorities had an interest in him: he had unlawfully reentered the country after being deported a decade ago.

But US Immigration and Customs Enforcement cannot expect Norwood police to simply hand Najera-Perez over if it wants to deport him again, because of a state law that limits local law enforcement cooperation on immigration matters that are only civil violations under federal rules.

And, since there was no request from federal authorities to detain Najera-Perez on a criminal violation, Norwood police would release him on bail after entering his fingerprints into a nationwide law enforcement database.

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