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287(g) & Secured Communities. Effective Programs or Discriminatory Practices. 287(g). Delegation of Immigration Enforcement to Local Law Enforcement Agencies. History of 287(g). 1996 – IIRIRA created the program - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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287(g) & Secured Communities
Effective Programs or Discriminatory Practices
287(g)
Delegation of Immigration Enforcement to
Local Law Enforcement Agencies
History of 287(g)
1996 – IIRIRA created the programNot used because of fears that the local law
enforcement would discriminate against immigrants 2001 – Local law enforcement show interest in
participating in 287(g) programs Currently 73 local law enforcement agencies have programs, with 1,000 trained officers. 30 more
agencies are on a waiting list. Over 79,000 people have been identified as undocumented.
2009 – Human rights organizations lobbied the Obama administration to end the program
287(g)’s Goals
To increase ICE’s enforcement capabilities To identify and remove dangerous
immigrants
Both goals are accomplished by using local law enforcement to investigate, arrest, detain and transport criminal immigrants.
3 Types of 287(g) Programs
1. Correctional31 of 67 agencies, additional 12 use a joint
correctional/task force program
2. Highway PatrolOnly 3 agencies
3. Task Force/Investigative 24 of 67 agencies, additional 12 use a joint
correctional/task force program
Correctional Programs
Programs in county jails that identify immigrants with criminal convictions or arrests
Example • Maricopa County, AZ• Harris County, TZ• Los Angeles County, CA
Highway Patrol Programs
Programs that stop people for traffic offenses and/or suspected smuggling
Jurisdictions Colorado Department of Safety Alabama State Police Georgia Department of Safety
Task Force/Investigative Programs
Program of officers specially trained in immigration law that work with other officers to investigate crimes
Anti-Terrorist UnitsExamples
• Florida Department of Law Enforcement Floating Alien Criminal Units
Examples• Beaufort County, SC• Collier County, FL• Prince William County, VA
Proponent’s Perspective
Increasing ICE’s ability to identify and remove dangerous immigrants
Programs driven by the needs of local law enforcement
Criticisms
ICE has failed to define program’s objectives or the extent of the officers’ authority, or supervise local agencies.
Local law enforcement agencies use 287(g) to discriminate against immigrant populations, especially Latino communities.
Example – racial profiling in Maricopa County, AZ
Programs target immigrants with minor convictions.
Immigrants experience unwarranted and prolonged detention.
Immigrant communities are afraid to report crimes because they see local law enforcement as part of ICE.
Secured Communities
Another Collaboration between ICE and Local Law Enforcement
Secured Communities’ Purpose
3 Purposes1. Identify criminal aliens through modernized
information sharing
2. Prioritize enforcement actions to ensure apprehension and removal of dangerous aliens
3. Transform criminal alien enforcement processes and systems to achieve lasting results
Identification
Upon arrest and booking, local law enforcement enter an immigrant’s fingerprints into the FBI and ICE databases to learn about the person’s criminal and immigration history.
If the arrested immigrant has a record of an immigration violation, ICE and local law enforcement are immediately notified and can issue a detainer for the person.
A detainer is an ICE request to be notified by the arresting agency before the arrested individual is released.
Prioritization of Crimes
3 Levels of Crimes
Level 1 – individuals with convictions for major drug offenses, murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery, and kidnapping
Level 2 – individuals convicted of minor drug offenses, burglary, fraud, money laundering, and traffic offenses
Level 3 – individuals convicted of other offenses, including resisting an officer
Prioritization Continued
“ICE will focus its efforts on the most dangerous criminal aliens currently charged with, or previously convicted of, the most serious criminal offenses. ICE will give priority to those offenses including, crimes involving national security, homicide, kidnapping, assault, robbery, sex offenses, and narcotics violations carrying sentences of more than one years.”
Secured Communities Fact Sheet, Sept. 1, 2009
Transformation
Unlike 287(g), Secured Communities does not require a MOA between ICE and local law enforcement.
No local law enforcement officers are deputized
ICE has technological presence in local prisons and jails, no physical presence
Criticisms
Human rights groups argue that Secured Communities do not fix the problems of 287(g); they compound them. • Unnecessary or prolonged detention• Racial profiling and pretexual arrests• No complaint mechanism • No oversight or transparency• No data
Unnecessary or Prolonged Detention
Program is focused on identifying immigrants at the arrest stage not the conviction stage. Immigrants may be detained longer as a result.
Once detainer is imposed, an individual cannot be released on bail or recognizance, or because completion of sentence or dismissal of charges.
It is harder for an individual to contest the criminal charges. Although detainers are just requests, jails treat them a
requirement and will not release the individual. Undocumented immigrant will remain in jail until ICE takes
action. Detainer is supposed to be for 48 hours, but ICE violate the
time limit and the individual stays in prolonged detention.
Racial Profiling & Pretexual Arrests
2 Concerns1. Racial Profiling - Police officers may have an incentive or
ability to arrest people based on race and ethnicity2. Pretextual Arrests - Police officers may arrest people
with suspected immigration violations
While little data is available on the implementation of Secured Communities, the Warren Institute’s September 2009 report of ICE’s Criminal Alien Program discovered a dramatic increase of discretionary arrests of Latinos for petty offenses.
No Complaint Mechanism
ICE does not provide for a complaint or redress procedure for individuals erroneously arrested, identified by DHS databases, or detained by DHS.
No Oversight or Transparency
Although Secured Communities is new, the program may suffer the lack of ICE oversight of 287(g) programs. No regulations on the implementation of Secured Communities exist. DHS fact sheets and press releases do not mention any requirements for data collection, audits, or oversight.
No Accurate Data
Because of no requirements for data collection, no one knows about the implementation or effectiveness of Secured Communities.
Local jurisdictions can participate in multiple programs (287(g), CAP, and Secured Communities). When a detainer is issued for an arrested immigrant, it is hard to determine which program produced the detainer.
To determine the effectiveness of and any possible discrimination from, the following are needed:
o Statistics on the crimes for which immigrants are arrestedo Disposition of the underlying criminal caseo Nationality and ethnicity of the arrested immigrants are needed.
The Chilling Effect of 287(g) & Secured Communities: Fact or Myth
Local law enforcement and the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) reports that Latino communities statistically report crimes at the same levels as non-Latino communities.
However, local law enforcement and CIS have not surveyed to members of Latino and other immigrant communities to see if Secured Communities and 287(g) programs produce a chilling effect on immigrants. Immigrants may not trust local law enforcement because they see local law enforcement as ICE
Conclusion – Without a culturally sensitive survey of members of immigrant communities on how they perceive both types of programs, proponents and opponents will not know if a chilling effect exists.
For More Information
January 2009 GAO Reportwww.gao.gov/new.items/d09109.pdf
American Immigration Council - Immigration Policy Centerwww.immigrationpolicy.org
American Immigrant Lawyer’s Associationwww.aila.org
ACLUwww.aclu.org
Human Rights Watch www.hrw.org
National Immigration Law Centerwww.nilc.org
Warren Institute, UC Berkeley School of Lawwww.law.berkeley.edu/6838.htm
Lisa Johnson-Firth, Esq.
PrincipalImmigration & Human Rights Law Firm, PLLC9119 Church StreetManassas VA 20110www.immigrantsfirst.com