NCJ Number
228580
Date Published
April 2009
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This is the executive summary of a report that presents the findings of a Police Foundation nationwide project that examined the views of law enforcement agencies, public officials, and community stakeholders regarding the use of local law enforcement agencies in enforcing Federal immigration laws.
Abstract
The project was prompted primarily by 1996 Federal legislation known as the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) 287(g) program, which authorizes Federal officials to enter into written agreements with State and local law enforcement agencies to perform the functions of immigration officers, including the investigation, apprehension, and detention of persons suspected of violating Federal immigration laws. The overall conclusion of the project is that the costs in lost community support for local and State police and their general public-safety mission, along with increased financial costs to State and local law enforcement agencies, outweigh the benefits of the ICE 287(g) program. Focus groups held throughout the country and discussions at a national conference on immigration issues concluded that State and local police officers should be prohibited from arresting and detaining persons for the sole purpose of investigating their immigration status in the absence of probable cause that an independent State criminal law has been violated. The recommendations further advise that if a local agency enters into the 287(g) program, its participation should focus on serious criminal offenders and be limited to verifying the immigration status of criminal detainees. In addition, those agencies that participate in the 287(g) program should develop policies and procedures for monitoring officers' racial profiling and abuse of authority. Further, in order to ensure that the mission and goals of community policing are preserved, agencies participating in 287(g) should involve representatives of the affected immigrant groups in their communities in the development of local immigration policies. Abstracts of papers prepared for the project are provided.