February 26, 2009


Report calls for Collier deputies to cease immigration enforcement

By JANINE ZEITLIN

A national report released today calls for the end to a program that gives local law agencies immigration enforcement powers, arguing that Latino population growth has fueled its rise rather than high crime rates.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office was among the first agencies in the nation in the program in which deputies perform functions of Immigration and Customs and Enforcement.

“The program has concentrated in high Latino population states,â€