Sheriffs-ICE deal possible deport screening model
The decision by sheriffs in Bristol and Plymouth counties to turn some of their officers into de facto immigration enforcers could be a blueprint for how Presidentelect Donald Trump could enlist local authorities to achieve his stated goal to deport illegals, analysts say.
Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson and Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald, both Republicans, will sign deals tomorrow with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to join a program called 287(g), which trains local law enforcement to conduct immigration screens on inmates the same as ICE does.
The certification deputizes local authorities to interview inmates about their immigration status and to search federal databases for a prisoner’s immigration history. They can also initiate deportation proceedings that prevent illegal aliens from being released before stretched-thin ICE agents can pick them up.
The 287(g) alliances between locals and ICE — which are by law voluntary and can’t be imposed by Washington — could be a linchpin of Trump’s strategy to boot criminal aliens from the country.
The president-elect referenced the program on the campaign trail, telling a Phoenix rally in August his administration “will expand and revitalize the popular 287(g) partnerships, which will help to identify hundreds of thousands of deportable aliens in local jails that we don’t even know about.”
Julie Myers Wood, an assistant secretary of homeland security for ICE under President George W. Bush, said Trump will likely be “eager to work with state and local communities that are frustrated with the pace of immigration enforcement and want to see enhancements.”
“It’s likely that the new administration would not put up hurdles to 287(g), but rather create incentives for state and local communities to partner, so that all parts of the government are kind of working toward a unified goal of consistent federal enforcement.” Wood said.
Jessica Vaughan of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies added: “The Trump administration has said that its biggest priority for immigration is going to be to focus on criminal aliens, and expanding 287(g) programs is the best way to get an increase in that kind of enforcement without having to hire a lot more ICE officers and get more detention space,” Vaughan said. “It’s like having ICE in your jail 24/7.”
Under the program, ICE pays for training and oversight, but local budgets carry the cost of the employees. Hodgson said the program allows jails to make more educated decisions on who might be dangerous if released.
Laura Rotolo, staff counsel for the ACLU of Massachusetts, called 287(g) agreements “a huge step backwards,” citing internal federal reviews that ripped the program as wasteful and lacking in transparency and accountability.
A 2009 review of the program by the Government Accountability Office found it lacked controls to ensure it focused on criminal aliens, and that four of 29 local participants used their authority to process immigrants for minor crimes, such as speeding.