CIS chronicles 287(g ) immigration enforcement tool

October 29, 9:35 AM
Kimberly Dvorak
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Congress created 287g in 1996 as program to enhance the cooperation of local law enforcement agencies and federal immigration services. In an effort to pander to the Latino organizations that helped propel Obama into the White House, the reigns of 287(g) rules are being pulled back.

Despite unsubstantiated criticism from civil liberty groups, 287(g) remains an effective piece of legislation assisting local law enforcement with illegal immigration crime-fighting tools.

Protecting the homeland remains a top priority for many federal and local agencies and like many arms of law enforcement many tweaks have been implemented along the way.

According to Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) more than 81,000 immigration arrests were made by 287(g) officers during January 2006 and November 2008.

This program is responsible for flagging a large number of known serious/violent offenders, ICE reports the number in 2008 was more than 45,000.

While most agencies that use 287(g) mainly identify and process illegal aliens who have committed additional crimes, Congress has never intended the program to be limited to that use alone, according to Center for Immigration Studies.

“Participating agencies credit the 287(g) program as a major factor in reduced local crime rates, smaller inmate populations and lower criminal justice costs,â€