Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The 287(g) Program


The 287(g) Program

Protecting Home Towns and Homeland

[Contact: Jessica Vaughan, (508) 346-3380,
jmv@cis.org]

WASHINGTON (October 27, 2009) – The 287(g) program was created by Congress in 1996 to enhance cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. The Obama administration has imposed new rules for the 287(g) program that unduly constrain the local partners and could allow more alien scofflaws identified by local agencies to remain here. But even with these changes, based on unsubstantiated criticism from ethnic and civil liberties groups, the 287(g) program remains an effective tool in immigration law enforcement and local crime-fighting.

A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies examines in detail the 287(g) program’s history, status, and results, concluding with a number of recommendations for improvement. The report, “The 287(g) Program: Protecting Home Towns and Homeland,” by Jessica Vaughan and James R. Edwards, Jr., is based on interviews with participating local law enforcement agencies (LEAs), statistics and reports provided by local LEAs, and data provided by ICE through a FOIA request.

Among the findings:

About 1,000 officers from 67 law enforcement agencies have been trained and participate in the program. With 9 new agencies joining and a handful of agencies dropping out in 2009, the total number of participating agencies as of October 2009 is 73.


287(g) officers lodged immigration charges on more than 81,000 illegal or criminal aliens between January 2006 and November 2008, according to data provided by ICE.


In 2008, the number of 287(g) arrests (45,368) was equal to one-fifth of all criminal aliens identified by ICE in prisons and jails nationwide that year (221,085). The program has flagged a large number of known serious and/or violent offenders, as well as some low-level offenders still at the bottom of the criminal behavior escalator. Illegal aliens targeted by the program have been identified as a result of involvement in local law-breaking in addition to immigration law-breaking.


While 287(g) agencies use the authority mainly to identify and process illegal aliens who have committed additional crimes, Congress never intended the program to be limited to that use. Lawmakers intended for local agency partners to use the authority for local law enforcement priorities and according to local needs, which may or may not be the same as federal priorities.


Participating agencies credit the 287(g) program as a major factor in reduced local crime rates, smaller inmate populations, and lower criminal justice costs.


287(g) is cost-effective — much less expensive than other criminal alien identification programs such as Secure Communities and Fugitive Operations. For example, in 2008 ICE spent $219 million to remove 34,000 fugitive aliens (mostly criminals). In 2008, ICE was given $40 million for 287(g), which produced more than 45,000 arrests of aliens who were involved in state and local crimes. In Harris County, Texas, the billion-dollar ICE Secure Communities interoperability program found about 1,718 removable aliens in its first six months beginning late in 2008; meanwhile the locally paid 287(g) officers in the same jail system charged about 5,000 criminal aliens over the same time period.


287(g) is a force multiplier. In 2008, the Colorado state 287(g) unit alone made 777 immigration arrests. In that same year the entire ICE investigations office based in Denver, which covers all of Colorado and several other states, made a total of 1,594 arrests. In Maricopa County, Arizona, the local ICE detention and removal manager supervises five ICE deportation agents, who are supplemented by 64 additional locally paid county jail 287(g) officers who also identify and process criminal aliens.


The largest number of agreements have been signed for 287(g) programs in correctional institutions, such as county jails or state prisons. These programs were responsible for 91 percent of the 287(g) arrests over the period we studied.


The task force/investigative 287(g) programs provide equally important crime-fighting benefits and are a useful tool to address such illegal immigration-related crime problems as alien smuggling, drugs, street gangs, and identity theft.


The Colorado, Arizona, and Alabama 287(g) programs have boosted ICE efforts to combat alien smuggling, which has been neglected since the agency’s formation.


Notwithstanding allegations from immigrant and civil liberties advocates, there have been no confirmed instances of racial profiling, discrimination, or other abuse of authority under the 287(g) program. There is no evidence whatsoever of a “chilling effect” on crime reporting in the 287(g) jurisdictions.


The waiting list for 287(g) is long — reportedly one to three years from the time of request to join until implementation.


The biggest obstacle to improving and expanding the 287(g) program is the lack of funding for bed space to detain illegal aliens discovered by local agencies to have committed crimes. As a result, ICE currently is removing fewer than half of the criminal aliens identified under 287(g). Several states have submitted proposals to ICE to help alleviate this problem, but ICE has not acted to increase funding for bed space, even as it claims to prioritize the removal of criminal aliens.


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The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent research institution that examines the impact of immigration on the United States.

Safety & Trust Needed, Not Helicopters

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Help Save Maryland Newsletter


CITIZEN SAFETY & TRUST NEEDED, NOT HELICOPTERS


During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. - George Orwell

Despite the continued economic downturn and severe state and county budget shortfalls, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and his Police Chief Tom Manger are making the rounds begging for a Police Aviation Unit ("Helicopters improve safety, make sense financially", Gazette, 9/23/09). It's a seemingly two-year "free lunch" as Uncle Sam provides the helicopters while confiscated drug and organized crime monies pay the fuel and maintenance costs.

But Leggett and Manger are being less than truthful with the citizens of Montgomery County regarding all aspects of their law enforcement strategy. The false bravado of helicopters being "force-multipliers to fight crime" and making police "smarter and more efficient in keeping our community safe", are just hollow promises. Recent unpublicized and unwarranted changes in Montgomery County Police policy and procedures have effectively neutered police officers in the field, jeopardizing the safety and well-being of all County citizens.

Last year, almost a dozen Montgomery County citizens were brutally murdered by illegal alien gang members and day laborers, including 14-year old honor student Tai Lam and 83-year old Holocaust survivor Lila Meizell. The public uproar was such that Leggett, Manger and Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy modified and strengthened police procedures regarding illegal aliens. A major part of the February 11, 2009 policy modification, forced in part by the actions of Help Save Maryland, Judicial Watch and other citizen organizations, was the ability of police officers to freely communicate with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regarding the "legal presence" of all suspects before they committed a serious criminal act. It was a positive step toward eliminating Manger's "post-mortem" police tactics and was approved by Leggett despite heavy lobbying from CASA of Maryland and other taxpayer funded illegal alien support groups.

On September 1, 2009, with the stroke of a pen and under a total media blackout, Leggett, Manger and McCarthy fully striped the rights of all police officers to communicate with ICE. This new policy ban covers all operations and discussions with ICE except in the most heinous of crimes. Equally devastating, officers can no longer routinely run the names of potential suspects though ICE's vast database of wanted illegal aliens, actions that could have saved the lives of Tai Lam, Lila Meizell and countless other crime victims (Chandra Levy for example, would be alive today had DC Police months earlier run her suspected killer's name through ICE). Helicopters won't solve the needless pain, suffering and loss inflicted on the Community because of this new lax and secretive policing policy. Montgomery County is now an official, full-fledged sanctuary for illegal alien criminals.

Most disturbing, the September 1 policy change shockingly places the Montgomery County Police in a weaker position to serve and protect citizens then prior to Leggett's highly publicized earlier February 11 modifications. We can thank the illegal alien support group Identity Inc, a sister organization of CASA of Maryland and Catholic Charities for causing Leggett, Manger and McCarthy to backtrack and abandon community safety and their professional credibility for the fool's gold of Hispanic community political support. Our three County officials cling to the delusive phantom of illegal alien amnesty as their savior from the coming community backlash over weakened law enforcement leadership and procedures.

Chief Manger and his senior officers of course denied the existence of the September 1 policy change memorandum. It was only when Help Save Maryland members waved the "non-existent document" under their collective noses at the Chief's October 17 monthly Latino Liaison meeting did the Chief's tone change. But it's too late for Leggett, McCarthy and Manger, as this poorly attempted cover up and backdoor appeasement to the illegal alien community regarding citizen safety will have consequences far beyond the secretive three page policy memo.

Chief Manger, less than three years from a needed retirement, has truly lost what little credibility he has left with Montgomery County citizens. He has sold out public safety and the fleeting memories of the near dozen citizens murdered at the hands of illegal alien criminals. Equally important, Manger has lost the trust and respect of his rank and file officers who are now helpless in getting criminal illegal alien gang members and day laborers off our streets. Relations with ICE have also been severely strained.

Leggett, McCarthy and Manger are mere pawns of the Hispanic illegal alien community and their taxpayer funded support groups. As the ramifications of the September 1 policy memo continue to unfold and become public, all three gentlemen may be looking for a helicopter ride out of town.

Brad Botwin, DirectorHelp Save Maryland

Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett ocemail@montgomerycountymd.gov

Montgomery County Council county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov

www.HelpSaveMaryland.com