rssNew DHS Rules Disappoint Immigrants’ Advocates
Friday, July 17, 2009 at 2:54 pm
- 18 Comments
New Department of Homeland Security agreements governing state and local police departments’ enforcement of immigration laws are not relieving their critics’ concerns.
Known as 287(g) authority because of the section of the immigration law that authorizes it, this delegation of federal law enforcement power to local police has sparked strong criticism from immigrants’ rights advocates for failing to prioritize the most serious crimes and allowing local sheriffs, like the notorious Joe Arpaio of Arizona, to target immigrants for the most minor crimes and allegedly engage in racial profiling.
The new standardized memorandum of understanding between DHS and local police, according to DHS, “defines the objectives of the 287(g) program, outlines the immigration enforcement authorities granted by the agreement and provides guidelines for ICE’s supervision of local agency officer operations, information reporting and tracking, complaint procedures and implementation measures.”
But the new agreement isn’t satisfying immigrants’ rights advocates.
“Not in there is how they’ll enforce those objectives and priorities,” said Joan Friedland, Policy Director for the National Immigration Law Center. It’s also not clear how they’ll prevent racial profiling, she noted, or whether they’ll start keeping relevant statistics to try to track it. Plus, the new agreement, in an effort to prevent local authorities from using criminal laws as a pretext for picking up immigrants for deportation, now requires law enforcement to pursue criminal charges to their resolution. Advocates say it’s not clear what that means.
“Will police interpret that as, we have to convict people? What happens to deferred prosecution?” asked Friedland. In the past, police could defer prosecution for a minor crime in exchange for a monitored period of good behavior.
The American Civil Liberties Union today released a statement expressing its disappointment with the new agreement.
“The new standardized MOA makes no serious attempt at discouraging illegal racial profiling or reducing the conflict between sound community policing principles and the expansion of this program,” said Omar Jadwat, staff attorney with the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project. “The Department of Homeland Security has claimed that the new MOA contains many significant improvements, but now that we actually have the document, it is clear that many of the claimed changes are really not changes at all, that the remaining changes have little or no positive operative effect, and that the new MOA actually takes several disturbing steps backward, particularly in the area of transparency.”
The new standardized agreement can be found here. The ACLU’s comparison of the new agreement with the old agreement with Maricopa County in Arizona is here.
Update: This afternoon a group of 25 civil rights and community groups issued a statement denouncing DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano’s plans to expand the 287(g) program to 11 more jurisdictions around the country.
Here’s the statement of Andrea Black, Coordinator of the Detention Watch Network:
DHS is fully aware that the abusive misuse of the 287(g) program by its current slate of agencies has rendered it not only ineffective, but dangerous to community safety. It is surprising Napolitano did not simply shut this program down. Expanding this failed program is not in line with the reform the administration has promised.
18 Comments
Pingback posted July 17, 2009 @ 4:25 pm
[...] Please distribute this far and wide as President Obama and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano are trying to cover their political a..ses by announcing their continuation and expansion of the radical and racist 287G policy below the clouds-and some fog- of excitement around the Sotomayor confirmation hearings. Rather than announce it at a time when it would draw attention to iteself, the Obama Administration chose to announce it last Friday, as the country and media buzz prepared for this week’s Sotomayor hearings. The Obama Administration would prefer we gaze at the smiling visage of soon-to-be Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor instead of the scowling face of the greatest benefactor to date of the infamous 287g prorgam: racist, anti-immigrant Maricopa County She… [...]
Comment posted July 17, 2009 @ 8:07 pm
Oh please. If most of the illegal immigrants are coming in from the South border, we know what color they are. That doesn't mean there is racial profiling, it just means that most illegal aliens aren't white or black. If you are Hispanic and are here legally, there's nothing to worry about. Show the cops your VALID ID and call it a day. People of every color are asked for ID at one time or another.
But if I were Hispanic, I'd be very angry at the cascade of illegal immigrants making it hard for all American citizens OF ALL COLORS. THEY are giving the Hispanic citizens an especially tough environment to live in. Or are you suggesting that America shouldn't enforce the laws of our country? Illegal immigrants ARE breaking the law just by being here after all.
Comment posted July 17, 2009 @ 8:50 pm
Oh, boo hoo, the illegal lovin advocates are disappointed. Who cares what they think? I am sick of these unpatriotic fools who cry racial profiling any time ANY kind of enforcement is discussed. The new rules do not go far enough, as far as I'm concerned. Why do police only get to go after violent criminial aliens or major drug offenders? So its OK for illegals to commit less major crimes like illegal entry, DUI, driving without insurance, public intoxication, drug dealing, gang banging. domestic abuse, sexual depravity and other crimes which would not fit into the 287g criteria. Ridiculous! That makes our country less safe and illegals less concerned about consequences. Illegals commit their fair share of these crimes so all should be subject to arrest, punishments and deportation related to those crimes. I'd say the new guidelines cover only a small portion of the 12-20 million illegals running around. Crossing into this country illegally is a crime !! Using a fake ID to work is a crime. Not paying taxes is a crime! Driving without a license is against the law also. So the police should be able to check anyone and everyone who breaks a law, whatever it may be. Checking everyone would make the “racial profiling” lame argument cease to exist. Another pathetic attempt by Oshama and his admin to make it look like they are getting tough on illegals so they can make these claims come amnesty time. Everyone knows these ploys are shams, with the gov't actually having no intenion whatsover in securing our border, enforcing immigration law or deporting the criminals who enter illegally. Americans see the games the gov't is playing and realize that Napolitano is a joke !! Look how she ran AZ, placating to the illegals. Please let your reps and Senators know that Americans do not support another illegal immigrants or another amnesty. Its been done several times already in our history and have been miserable failures each time, with the illegal population exploding after each amnesty. No more games, just enforce the laws and go after those who break them.
Comment posted July 17, 2009 @ 10:46 pm
Illegal Immigration and health care are heavily connected, believe it or not. Massive high taxes are imposed on the US taxpayer to pay for so called emergency hospital care for illegal immigrants and their families. Except foreign nation use the emergency room for their basic needs, such as the flue or a splinter in the finger. As always the taxpayer is the recipient? Health care revision can never happen while Taxpayer carry the heavy burden of paying for the millions of illegal workers and families, who have settled here. As an example 80 hospitals and clinics locked their doors for good in the Sanctuary State of California, because huge hordes of individuals came their for free health care. Why do you think California found themselves with a $24.5 billion budget deficit?
Those who want to just follow the same old road, can do so with the profit taking commercial insurance. Those who would be satisfied with a government run health care program, can now start demanding it from the lawmakers. Those who see a Universal health care system, similar to most developed countries in Europe, should start informing every Representative and Senate politician starting today. Rationing in places like England, was caused by the major impact of uncontrolled immigration. I see–THE RATS–are coming out of the woodwork, using propaganda and downright lies about government run medical care? The Special interest lobby, status quo have very wealthy fingers in the pie and do not want Health care for everybody? It's a trillion dollar business like Cancer treatments.
The pharmaceutical companies, AMA and others have very much to lose? Even many corrupt politicians are stockholders in this behemoth money machine. Most American working class can do–without– high premiums, pre-existing condition clauses. deductibles, co-pays that is representative of the wealthy medical care insurers.
Unless our politicians commit themselves to a strong E-Verify, Police enforcement 287(g) and enforce all federal employees are vetted, so illegal immigrant workers can be rooted-out. The push for AMNESTY, will even draw another invasion in to our nation once the word goes out.
This free health care atrocity was placed on the unknowing American, years past and never been rescinded. This has favored the business community, because they pay–ABSOLUTELY NOTHING– to a maimed or sick illegal worker, because it's passed on to the consumer. IF YOU DESIRE A NEW HEALTH CARE SYSTEM, WHERE YOU CAN CHOOSE YOUR INSURER? WHETHER YOU WANT THE FOR PROFIT INSURANCE OR GOVERNMENT MEDICAL CARE SYSTEM? TODAY IS CRITICAL. SO CALL YOUR SENATOR OR CONGRESSMAN 202-224-312. Just like illegal immigration , we cannot afford anymore to subsidize the business that hire them or the millions of illegal families. GOOGLE–on the web to find the truth.
Pingback posted July 18, 2009 @ 12:57 pm
[...] Please distribute this far and wide as President Obama and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano are trying to cover their political a..ses by announcing their continuation and expansion of the radical and racist 287G policy below the clouds-and some fog- of excitement around the Sotomayor confirmation hearings. Rather than announce it at a time when it would draw attention to iteself, the Obama Administration chose to announce it last Friday, as the country and media buzz prepared for this week’s Sotomayor hearings. The Obama Administration would prefer we gaze at the smiling visage of soon-to-be Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor instead of the scowling face of the greatest benefactor to date of the infamous 287g program: rabidly racist, anti-immigrant Maricopa Co… [...]
Comment posted July 19, 2009 @ 1:29 am
Illegal aliens are criminals and parasites, one and all. Their very presence here and practically everything they do on U. S. soil is illegal. They need to be ferreted out, rounded up like cattle, punished for their numerous crimes, then booted back to whence they snuck in from with such extreme prejudice that they will never, ever think of violating our sovereignty again. Enough is enough.
Watch The Obama Deception Here Free—> http://tinyurl.com/ObamaDeceptionHD
Comment posted July 20, 2009 @ 3:41 pm
Not that I'm especially want to comment on this news, but I think that forums of this sort are far too dominated by overexcited spirits who are always looking for new and “creative” ways of expressing their contempt of illegal immigrants, as if they were sub-humans. It would behoove the U.S. as a democratic society to back down from these chauvinistic stands and figure out a way of organizing better coexistence among the peoples of the Americas. Working people who come to the US to make a buck cannot be faulted if migration, legal or otherwise, is one of the few paths open to them. 287g from this standpoint is a regression and trying to modify the rules is hopeless. The program should be junked and the federal authorities should play a role in the defense of civil rights — the better part of our tradition, not the mean-spirited part.
Comment posted July 22, 2009 @ 2:18 am
Obviously you don't know of the one's I've known!
Pingback posted July 26, 2009 @ 7:03 pm
[...] announcing the expansion of the 287(g) program, which conservative and restrictionist groups have long been encouraging, Napolitano hailed its [...]
Pingback posted August 7, 2009 @ 12:40 am
[...] we know the administration is not changing from its predecessor, including the highly controversial 287(g) provision that deputizes local law enforcement agencies to carry out federal immigration policy (the [...]
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