On December 15, Representative Luis Gutierrez of Illinois introduced his version of Comprehensive Immigration Reform to the House of Representatives. Amongst its many provisions, the bill would eliminate the successful 287(g) immigration enforcement program in which local law enforcement are trained and deputized by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to carry out federal immigration law. Yet, Gutierrez’s bill is not the only blow made against 287(g) this year. Following an early 2009 GAO report that resulted in claims of racial profiling and a lack oversight and direction within 287(g), the …
#3: State and Local Immigration Enforcement Works Right now, across the country, 287(g) programs are making meaningful progress in tackling the immigration problem. Under 287(g) auspices, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) trains state and local law enforcement to act like ICE agents. In Davidson County, TN, it helped law enforcement get 90 gang leaders off the streets. And across the nation, criminal aliens are not only taken off the streets through 287(g), but also taken out of the country. In this way, this program is making communities safer by helping …
Supporters of “comprehensive” immigration reform often purport the zero sum argument that there must be permanent legalization or the forced deportation of all 12 million illegal immigrants. However, a new pilot program by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is testing another option. The pilot of Operation Scheduled Departure allows non-criminal fugitive illegal immigrants, in other words those illegal immigrants who have received deportation orders but have not complied and have no criminal records, to turn themselves in at ICE offices in Charlotte, Chicago, Santa Ana, Phoenix and San Diego. …
