Tulsa County Commissioners vote to renew 287(g)

Tulsa County Commissioners approved renewing the controversial 287(g) immigration identification and detention program Monday in a 2-1 vote. The renewal was sought by Tulsa County Sheriff Vic Regalado, who insists the program is necessary to keep Tulsa safe from dangerous criminal immigrants. The sole vote against renewing the program was cast by Commissioner Karen Keith.

Critics of the program spoke out a hearing before the vote, claiming it unfairly profiles and targets Hispanics, and that the majority of those detained and removed under 287(g) have not been the violent offenders Regalado claims to fear, but rather otherwise law abiding residents caught up in the system due to minor traffic or other small violations.

287(g) has been widely criticized both here and across the nation for creating an atmosphere of mistrust of law enforcement among members of various immigrant communities and for being part of a broken system that continues to split families apart, separating spouses from one another and children from their parents.

A representative of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) confirmed to La Semana Monday that all 287(g) agreements relating to field enforcement, or local immigration task forces, had been discontinued over the past several years in favor of the Secure Communities program, but that more than 30 jail agreements remain in effect or are pending renewal.

Regalado’s likely Democratic opponent, Rex Berry, who has been an outspoken critic of 287(g) in all its forms, attended the hearing on Monday, as did representatives from Dream Act Oklahoma, the Coalition for the American Dream, and other concerned organizations and individuals.

In addition to the renewal, Regalado plans to ask the federal government for more money to house each detained individual. (La Semana)