Obama Administration Proposes to Cut 287(g) Funding
Obama Administration Proposes to Cut 287(g) Funding
By Jessica Vaughan, February 13, 2012
The Obama administration intends to cut funding for the popular and effective 287(g) program, according to the DHS budget summary document just released today. If approved by Congress, this move would leave more than a dozen local agencies at the altar waiting for training programs promised by ICE.
The explanation is on page 101:
FY 2013 Major Decreases:
• Realignment and Reduction of 287(g)…………………………………..-$17.0M (-24 FTE)
This request reduces the 287(g) program as Secure Communities reaches nationwide
deployment in FY 2013. The Secure Communities screening process is more cost effective
in identifying and removing criminal aliens and other priority aliens than the officer-focused
287(g) model. Proposed funding reductions in FY 2013 will impact the 287(g) jurisdictions
with the lowest criminal identifications.
The Administration's claim that Secure Communities is more cost-effective than 287(g) is highly debatable. First of all, under 287(g) agreements, the local agencies are providing the personnel and computer hardware to screen and process the criminal aliens, at little to no cost to the federal government. Second, Secure Communities is less comprehensive and can identify only those aliens who have a recent record with ICE. According to my review of a jurisdiction that uses both simultaneously, the 287(g) officers find about twice the number of removable aliens than Secure Communities, and faster.
Not only that, 287(g) is much less of a catch-and-release program. According to internal ICE statistics, in 2010, 287(g) officers moved to deport 90 percent of the removable criminal aliens they identified. Under Secure Communities, the percentage was less than half.
As for cost, over its six-year lifespan, the 287(g) program has resulted in the removal of about the same number of illegal aliens as Secure Communities has – roughly 120,000. ICE does not publish detailed figures, but from what I have gleaned over the years, the entire lifetime cost of 287(g) is less than one year of Secure Communities, which runs about $150 million annually.
Don't get me wrong; I'm a big fan of Secure Communities, but it is not a substitute for 287(g). The fact that the Obama administration wants to starve it out of existence is proof positive of how well it works.
Obama Administration Proposes to Cut 287(g) Funding | Center for Immigration Studies
DHS budget proposes discontinuing 287(g) in some jurisdictions
February 13, 2012 | 5:27 PM
By Leslie Berestein Rojas
DHS budget proposes discontinuing 287(g) in some jurisdictions
A fiscal year 2013 budget brief released by Homeland Security today has some details on the Obama administration’s immigration enforcement priorities, and one of the losers is the federal-local partnership known as 287(g).
The administration is proposing a budget reduction of $17 million up front, and the document suggests a gradual phase-out in favor of Secure Communities, which is described as “more consistent, efficient and cost effective.”
From the brief:
287(g) Program: In light of the nationwide activation of the Secure Communities program, the Budget reduces the 287(g) program by $17 million. The Secure Communities screening process is more consistent, efficient and cost effective in identifying and removing criminal and other priority aliens. To implement this reduction in 2013, ICE will begin by discontinuing the least productive 287(g) task force agreements in those jurisdictions where Secure Communities is already in place and will also suspend consideration of any requests for new 287(g) task forces.
Named for a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 287(g) provides training and resources to law enforcement agencies that sign a contract with the federal government to partner in immigration enforcement. Unlike the controversial Secure Communities, which the Obama administration has declared is mandatory, participation in 287(g) is optional. Los Angeles County participates in it, sharing information about county jail inmates with immigration authorities. This is another key difference, as with Secure Communities, the biometric information shared is taken during the booking process, before there is a conviction.
The budget brief recommends funding to complete nationwide deployment of Secure Communities in fiscal year FY 2013.
Another enforcement winner is E-Verify, the online employee status-check program that is mandatory nationwide, but which several states have written into anti-illegal immigration laws as mandatory for employers. According to the budget brief, $112 million is recommended “to sustain funding for the E-Verify Program operations and enhancements to help U.S. employers maintain a legal workforce.” The budget also extends E-Verify authorization for another year.
The entire budget brief can be downloaded here.
DHS budget proposes discontinuing 287(g) in some jurisdictions | Multi-American