People spreading false info about 287[g] program
I am writing this letter to the citizens of Rensselaer County to clarify the misunderstandings and false information that has been circulating regarding the Sheriff’s Office participating in the Homeland Security 287(g) Criminal Alien Jail Identification Program. The 287(g) agreement is a correctional component of the program and not an enforcement agreement. Under this agreement, the Sheriff’s Office will have two Correctional Officers trained to work with ICE to identify those individuals who have committed a crime, remanded to jail, and have the ability to determine if those individuals are wanted by DHS/ ICE. I and my undersheriff have explained this to both the majority and minority of the County Legislature and to individuals such as Melanie Trimble of the New York Civil Liberties Union; however, in a recent letter to The Record “Reader’s View”, Melanie Trimble continues to provide false information to the public, which I believe strikes fear into the immigrant community and the public at large - exactly what she accuses the Sheriff’s Office of doing.
Again, I must state that the 287(g) agreement with the Sheriff’s Office is a correctional component of the program. We will not be training our highway patrol deputies to become ICE agents to conduct immigration sweeps, nor does our agreement allow us to do so.
There are many agencies that refuse to cooperate with DHS/ICE and refuse to honor ICE detainers, thereby releasing illegal immigrants with criminal records back into the community. This WILL NOT happen in Rensselaer County. I will not release any illegal alien with a criminal record who has the potential to commit additional crimes back into the community. This would be a disservice to law abiding citizens and to members of the law enforcement community who may have to interact with these individuals at a later time and would be a violation of my oath of office.
Ms. Trimble’s letter states that participating in the 287(g) program would put public safety at risk. I do not see how removing illegal aliens with criminal records has any effect on public safety other than to make the community a safer place. One of the most violent gangs in this country currently is MS13, primarily made up of illegal criminal aliens, who prey upon their own community with acts of violence and reprisal and use immigration status as a recruitment tool. Ms. Trimble’s letter also states the program will be costly to the taxpayers and will take officers away from their regular duties. In response, I will say that the program will not affect our patrol coverage of the County in any way and for the correctional officers who are trained, they will absorb the duties into their regular workload, just as they would with any new program the Sheriff’s Office institutes. As far as costs to the taxpayer, Ms. Trimble states that the County would foot the bill for travel and lodging for the officers that are being trained. ICE has agreed to cover the cost of travel, training, lodging and infrastructure requirements to the jail. This was relayed to Ms. Trimble by my undersheriff prior to her letter to The Record. The Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office has an excellent relationship with the U. S. Marshals Service and due to an agreement with the Marshals, we have had the opportunity to house in approximately 100 federal inmates on a daily basis, generating close to $4 million of revenue for the County last year. The opportunity to house ICE inmates in our facility would increase our housed-in revenue and lessen the burden on taxpayers. This also would be accomplished without hiring additional correctional staff.
My last observation of Ms. Trimble’s letter is that it was accompanied by a photo of an individual behind a screen in an immigration van with a caption of a mother who was deported shortly after President Trump took office. In my opinion, this is another attempt to strike fear into the immigrant community. I am sure if I thought that it would change the mind of anyone that is opposed to any type of immigration enforcement, I could fill the paper with photos of illegal criminals who have robbed, raped and murdered citizens of communities all across this country or photos of victims who have been killed in auto accidents by individuals who have been deported on more than one occasion.
I have decided and expressed my position not to hold a public forum on the issue because my experience with public forums is that they become a platform for protests. Such a forum would draw protestors from all over, many of whom do not reside in Rensselaer County and have no vested interest in Rensselaer County, and who are inclined to promote other agendas, such as resistance to law enforcement operations in general and federal law enforcement agencies in particular. Regardless of my explanation of this program, their view would not change.
Ms. Trimble’s article states that 71 percent of law enforcement officers polled by American University have reservations about the program. I can state that in Rensselaer County, the rank and file police officers I have spoken to are opposed to releasing individuals here illegally who have committed a crime and have a criminal record back into the community.
In 2016, Rensselaer County experienced a double homicide, where two illegal immigrants were allegedly murdered by four others here in the country illegally. Nobody from the immigrant community was knocking on our door with information regarding this case and this is before the 287(g) issue came up. Individuals fear reprisal from gangs or criminals more than they fear contact with the police. Further, in this case, we were fortunate that an innocent person did not happen upon the scene during the murders or disposal of the body or they most probably would have met the same fate as the victims.
As far as being the only agency in New York to date to sign up for the program, I do not know or will not answer for other agencies who have not expressed interest in the program. Perhaps they are agencies controlled by politicians or department heads who believe in sanctuary city status, or maybe some who want to have the broadest voter base possible. Because a program is too controversial is never a good reason to oppose it.
I have never and will never make decisions based upon how the issue will affect my political standing, nor make decisions based upon pressure I receive from groups such as the New York Civil Liberties Union. My decisions will be based on what I believe will enhance the safety and security of the residents of Rensselaer County and how they will improve the quality of life in our communities.
Opponents of the Sheriff’s Office participating in the correctional component of the 287(g) program state that it sends the wrong message to the community. I strongly disagree with that assessment.
In closing, there are two messages that I would like to send loud and clear.
First, if you are here illegally with a criminal background and are planning to commit additional crimes, Rensselaer County is not a good place to hang your hat.
Second, to the law abiding residents of Rensselaer County, you can be assured that when it comes to public safety, the Sheriff’s Office has your back.
Patrick A. Russo is the sheriff of Rensselaer County.