287g Information
We are very familiar with
the 287g program, and have researched it thoroughly. The major sticking
point to our participation is that local officers cannot use the 287g authority
unless they are under the direct supervision of an ICE agent – since
there are no ICE agents stationed in
As you mentioned, the
tuition cost is $520. The travel, per diem, and hotel costs bring the
total to over $5,000 per person, however. We have told the Federal
Government we cannot consider expending that amount of money unless ICE
stations agents in
Another obstacle to
effective use of this program is the lack of detention space for ICE
detainees. We actually have less detention space available than we did in
2001. ICE (and that includes 287g officers) cannot detain an illegal
alien on civil charges unless there is a bed available in an ICE detention
facility. There are only 28 spaces available for detention in the
The only real benefit of 287g
certification for deputies is the ability to arrest on civil immigration
violations. We already actively investigate criminal violations of
immigration law, and refer all information to federal law enforcement for
prosecution in federal court.
I do not want to leave the
impression we are doing nothing about illegal immigration. On the
contrary, we work very closely with our federal counterparts to help stem
illegal activity. Here are some examples of our recent
immigration-related activities:
a. Sheriff’s Office
investigation resulted in arrest of illegal alien on terrorist watch list, led
to ICE detention and deportation processing.
b. Sheriff’s Office
investigations led to identification and arrest of 15 illegal alien gang
members (MS-13 and Mexican Mafia) members, resulting in ICE detention and
deportation processing of all.
c. Sheriff’s Office
investigations have led to major international and multi-state federal
investigations of visa fraud, alien smuggling, harboring illegals,
& human trafficking. Since August 2003 to August 2007, we have filed
537 intelligence reports on these issues with federal law enforcement agencies.
d. Sheriff’s Office
investigations led to federal prosecution and/or deportation processing of over
50 (last 12 months) illegal aliens for re-entry after deportation, use of
counterfeit immigration documents, and/or possession of firearms by illegal
alien.
e. Over 500 illegal aliens
arrested during the last 12 months on various state charges (most relating to
license or document fraud violations). All were reported to immigration,
but the Feds only deport those who are in certain categories (felony
convictions, re-entry after deportation, gang members, etc).
Although the jail is not
administered by the Sheriff, we work closely with them to help identify
criminal illegal aliens. When we know an arrestee is an illegal or gang
member, we flag the paperwork that goes to the jail. The jail, in turn,
sends a list of inmates to ICE everyday. ICE agents screen the list and
determine who may be a deportable alien, and sends an agent or Detention &
Removal Officer to interview and process them.
We continue to lobby the
Federal Government for ICE support in