Federal, Local Law Enforcement Program Nets 79,000 Illegal Aliens Since 2006
Monday, March 16, 2009
By Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer


(CNSNews.com) – A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fact sheet reveals that 67 state and local law enforcement agencies in 23 states have signed an agreement with DHS to enforce federal immigration laws. The program allows local law enforcement, with federal training and authorization, to apprehend, arrest and imprison illegal aliens.

The report says that since January 2006, the 287(g) program has identified 79,000 individuals, most of them already in prison, who are suspected of being in the United States illegally.

The program – Agreements of Cooperation in Communities to Enhance Safety and Security, or ACCESS – trains law enforcement personnel as "jail enforcement officers" to identify people serving time in prisons who are in the country illegally, and as Task Force Officers, who enforce immigration law outside of the penal system, according to section 287 (g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

State and local police attend a four-week training session at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Charleston, S.C., led by certified instructors, according to the DHS.

Requirements for entering the training program include U.S. citizenship, a background investigation, a minimum of two years' experience in one's current position and no pending disciplinary actions.

The partnership, DHS says, “allows local patrol officers, detectives, investigators and correctional officersâ€