Thread: 2 Mass. law agencies out of immigration program

2 Mass. law agencies out of immigration program
October 1, 2009

BOSTON—Two Massachusetts law enforcement agencies have announced that they are no longer enrolled in a controversial program that allows them enforce federal immigration laws.

The Framingham police and the Barnstable County sheriff's department announced Thursday they were withdrawing from the federal program immigrant advocates said deterred immigrants from reporting crimes.

Framingham Chief Steven Carl said he was withdrawing because federal officials pressured the department to broaden its enforcement. He said federal officials wanted his department to detain immigrants, transport them and even testify in immigration court.

In Massachusetts, only the state's Department of Corrections is still enrolled in the program.

www.boston.com

Police in Framingham withdraw from federal immigration program

By Dan McDonald and Norman Miller
Posted Oct 01, 2009 @ 09:13 PM
Last update Oct 02, 2009 @ 12:27 AM

FRAMINGHAM — The Police Department divorced itself from a federal deal Thursday that gave it access to federal criminal databases and granted two officers the power to act as immigration officials.

The department pulled out of the agreement after Immigration and Custom Enforcement pushed to expand Framingham's immigration enforcement role.

The federal government wanted to change the agreement by requiring local police to help issue immigration detainers and assist in deportations.

Police say that could alienate an already reticent immigrant community.

"We want them to report crimes," said Police Chief Steven Carl. "We want them to call us when they're victims. We don't want them to be afraid of us. If we participated in the full (program), they'd be terrified of us."

ICE's wish would also have stretched an already understaffed department and cost a cash-strapped town more money, Carl said yesterday.

The original memo of understanding allowed Framingham Police to tap into a database to help investigate violent crimes.

Police spokesman Lt. Paul Shastany acknowledges the department has been caught in the middle of a debate on immigration enforcement. Some say the police are doing too much, others charge they're not doing enough.

That division was reflected in the community as the news of Framingham dropping out of the federal program broke late yesterday.

Vera Dias Freitas, a local leader in the Brazilian community, said it is "wise that Framingham is pulling out of the program."

"The reality is the existence of immigrants is everywhere," she said. "What needs to be done is immigration reform where people are able to find a pathway to citizenship. No one wants to be living in the shadows. We should be looking for ways to support such reform."

Town Meeting member Dan Gittelsohn is on the opposite side.

He thought the federal government should allow every town and city to investigate and deport "any illegal alien in this country." He thought that would better protect "every legal citizen of this country."

Gittelsohn said he is outraged existing immigration laws are not enforced more stringently.

The program was better than nothing, he said, adding, "In defense of the Framingham Police Department, financially, I understand why they're having a hard time with this."

Framingham entered into the program, known as 297(g), in August 2007 because of crimes that were going unreported, said Shastany.

"Oftentimes people within the Brazilian community would know of a person who was using an alias and they would be reluctant to talk to us," said Shastany.

The original agreement allowed police to tap into databases that can shed light on violent felons, human or drug smugglers, gang members or immigration fugitives. Some such criminals use aliases, so their names do not show up in the state or FBI databases typically used by local authorities.

Shastany cited two high-profile crimes - a death stemming from a botched black market liposuction in 2006 and a fatal domestic assault that same year - where Brazilians in the community did not go straight to the police to report a crime, despite the fact that Brazilians were victims.

"This was a way for us to use the information that we would not get during an investigation," said Shastany. "Otherwise, we had no means to find out who people are."

The intent of the program was to help solve "crimes involving gangs, guns, violent drug-related crimes, violent domestic assault and batteries, things like that."

The original agreement did not call for officers to conduct random street operations, investigate day laborers or question the immigration status of anyone.

Police have stopped using computers they obtained from the federal government as part of the program. ICE needs to pick them up.

Even if the department wanted to undertake an expanded role in local immigration enforcement, it does not have the resources to do so.

Carl said it would "crush us, financially.'

Framingham Police do not have the manpower for things like seeking a deportation warrant and going to federal court to testify, said Shastany.

The agreement, in which the federal government authorized two officers to act as immigration officials, unsettled local immigrants.

Shastany said police didn't use the program "as often as people think."

Under 287(g), police arrested three immigrants connected to a spate of robberies within the first year of its implementation.

All three had connections to street gangs and were deported to Brazil.

Shastany stressed the department will continue to cooperate with ICE whenever possible. "We're just not immigration officers," he said.

The Barnstable County sheriff's office was also pulling out of the program, according to the Associated Press.

(Dan McDonald can be reached at dmcdonal@cnc.com.)



http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/homep ... on-program

Agencies halt their immigrant scrutiny
Barnstable sheriff, Framingham police say no
By Maria Sacchetti
October 2, 2009
COMMENTS (23)

Two Massachusetts law enforcement agencies have halted a controversial program that authorized them to enforce federal immigration laws, thrilling advocates for immigrants but drawing criticism from those seeking tougher restrictions.


The Framingham Police Department pulled out this week because the federal government had urged the force to detain and deport immigrants more aggressively, and the chief feared that would erode trust in the community. The Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office said federal officials suspended their involvement a few months ago, leaving the state’s Department of Correction as the only participating unit in Massachusetts.

“It doesn’t benefit the Police Department to engage in deportation and immigration enforcement,’’ Framingham’s chief, Steven Carl, said yesterday. “We’re done. I told them to come get the computers.’’

The program, known formally as 287(g), grants state and local law enforcement agencies the power to enforce federal immigration laws after they sign an agreement with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and undergo training. The program underwent a sweeping nationwide overhaul in July following criticism that it led to racial pro filing, intimidation, and the deportation of immigrants for such minor crimes as speeding.

The Government Accountability Office had criticized the program, which is supposed to focus on hardcore crimes such as murder and drug smuggling. Other complaints led to a federal investigation of an Arizona sheriff’s office that had used the program to launch an unusually aggressive crackdown.

Nationwide, 66 law enforcement agencies are enrolled in the program, and 13 more have been approved to sign an agreement with the federal agency, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Massachusetts did not report abuses connected to the program, and Framingham and Barnstable rarely used their federal authority. But its existence was a powerful symbol, especially in Framingham, where more than 1 in 4 residents is foreign-born.

Carl said he signed up two years ago for the sole purpose of accessing federal computer databases to aid in criminal investigations. He assigned two officers to the program, and said the databases helped, but only two or three people were arrested as a result.

He said he decided to withdraw over the summer after federal officials asked him to expand the officers’ duties to detaining immigrants for deportation, transporting detainees, and having police testify in immigration cases. He sent a letter Wednesday to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement formally withdrawing.

Carl said he would still work with federal immigration officials on criminal investigations, as many police departments continue to do statewide regardless of the program.

In Barnstable County, Sheriff James M. Cummings said federal officials suspended their involvement in the program a few months ago, before it ever got started. He had enrolled in 2007 and sent 12 deputy sheriffs for training.


“They told us that they were going in a different direction,’’ Cummings said of federal officials. “They said they weren’t going to operate the program [here] any longer. They may be back sometime in the future.’’



The state Department of Correction has no plans to withdraw from the program, said Diane Wiffin, spokeswoman. Governor Deval Patrick enrolled the department in 2007, after overturning a decision by his predecessor, Mitt Romney, to authorize State Police to join.

Immigrant advocates hailed the news yesterday that the federal program would be less of a presence in the state.

Eva Millona, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, yesterday called the end of the programs “a great victory’’ and praised Framingham in particular.

Immigrants who fear deportation are less likely to report crimes, she said, forcing victims of domestic violence and others to suffer in silence.

“We’re thrilled,’’ she said. “All the residents of Massachusetts need to feel that law enforcement will work with them to make their city safer.’’

Fausto da Rocha, a Brazilian immigrant leader and critic of the programs, especially in Framingham, praised the police chief for bowing out of the program and for keeping his word to focus only on criminals.

“He did the right thing,’’ da Rocha said of the chief. “He’s going to make the community more comfortable and to trust more in the police in Framingham. He’s doing really good work for the community there.’’

Others criticized the decision, saying it would encourage more illegal immigrants to come to Massachusetts.

“They should be putting more of an effort to go after them,’’ said Jim Rizoli, spokesman for a Framingham group called Concerned Citizens and Friends of Illegal Immigration Law Enforcement. “They could be pulling them in every minute of the day.’’

Matt Chandler, a spokesman for the US Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement, confirmed that Framingham police and the Barnstable County Sheriff’s office are out of the program, but declined to comment on their involvement.

“The 287(g) program is a voluntary program which enables local law enforcement agencies to identify criminal aliens who pose a public safety threat in their communities,’’ he said. “Should any community feel that their law enforcement needs are better met through other means, ICE will assist them as best they can.’’

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/framingh ... atest+news

This is another case of "our" Federal government squashing any enforcement tool that proves to be effective. They make the rules too expensive and time consuming to be practical.
It sounds like the 287 program is revealing how many millions of illegal immigrants are really in this country. Now, we can't have that before amnesty, can we ?

Anyone who live in or near that area should flood these offices w/ calls.

This is gutless, and sad.

Not only do we have to fight the ethno-centrists, pro-illegal invader groups, but we have to fight with our own damn government to get them to enforce our immigration laws!! WTF is going on in this country?