What Makes Communities Safe? A Review of Local Police Enforcement of Immigration Law Through the 287(g) Program

Yesterday, the House Committee on Homeland Security held a hearing (a recorded video of the hearing is now available) entitled "“Examining 287(g): The Role of State and Local Law Enforcement in Immigration Law.”

The highlight of the hearing was the release of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report "Immigration Enforcement: Controls over Program Authorizing State and Local Enforcement of Federal Immigration Laws Should be Strengthened" which emphasizes the lack of oversight Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has over its locally deputized officers in the 287(g) program.

The 287(g) program was created by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA, pronouced ir-ah-ir-ah), forming agreements which would allow local police officers to enforce federal immigration laws. But while the program was formed in 1996, no local law enforcement agency had applied for the program until after September 11th. The first program was then finalized in 2002 and today there are 67 287(g) agreement programs operating in 23 states.

The intent of the program was to provide local officers with the power to go after high-level criminals. Given that immigration law is extremely complex--many people consider it a legal equivalent to tax law(!)--delegation of authority was statutorily limited to a select number of officials who underwent a five-week training in immigration law and were subject to ICE's supervision.

However, the GAO report points out that:

1. The program lacks key internal controls
2. The program objectives have not been laid out or documented in program-related materials
3. Oversight on how (and when) to use immigration authority has been inconsistent
4. The structure of ICE's supervision of 287(g) programs has not been developed or defined
   
5. Consistent data collection, documentation, and reporting requirements have not been defined
6. Performance meters used to evaluate program progress are virtually non-existent

And most importantly, over half of the 29 state and local law enforcement agencies reviewed and interviewed by GAO for this report had documented complaints and concerns about 287(g) authority being used to apprehend, detain, and deport immigrants who had committed minor violations like speeding or running traffic lights, and/or to apprehend and detain in a manner consistent with racial profiling.

Among the other witnesses at the hearing were Sheriff Chuck Jenkins from Frederick County, MD and Police Chief J. Thomas Manger of Montgomery County, MD.

Sheriff Jenkins testified that they had no problems with the 287(g) program, arguing that it is "a strong and effective tool in safeguarding our national security at our borders." He also said that he believes "existing fear or distrust of law enforcement is generally cultural based, as most countries where immigrants originate from do have corrupt governments, corrupt and abusive law enforcement, which is all that they have been exposed to in their lives."

Meanwhile, Police Chief Manger--who is also a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA)--believes that the 287(g) program undermines trust, confidence, and cooperation between police and immigrant communities. He testified that through his experience, he concurs with what the MCCA has written:

"...without assurances that contact with police would not result in purely civil immigration enforcement action, the hard won trust, communication and cooperation from the immigrant community would disappear. Such a divide between the local police and immigrant groups would result in increased crime against immigrants and the broader community, create a class of silent victims and eliminate the potential for assistance from immigrants in solving crimes or preventing future terroristic attacks."

Police Chief Manger also noted Latinos are disproportionately targets of crime and in urban areas with large Latino or immigrant populations, programs like 287(g) would be destructive to community safety.

A similar report put out by Justice Strategies, a nonprofit research group, said that "comprehensive immigration reform, which Congress has failed to pass, should be the goal of the Obama administration... The 287(g) program 'amounts to a local and state bailout of the failed federal immigration enforcement business.'"


Links to media coverage of the GAO report and yesterday's hearing:

NY Times- Report Questions Immigration Program

Wall Street Journal- Immigrant Busts Faulted

Associated Press- House Panel Scrutinizes Immigration Program

Gannett Washington Bureau- Federal Immigration Officials Chided for Lax Control Over Local Police