Thread: House bill would cut local immigration enforcement program

Monday, December 28, 2009 | Last Update 8:30 EST


House bill would cut local immigration enforcement program
By: David Sherfinski

December 28, 2009

A bill introduced in the House would eliminate an immigration enforcement program used by Prince William and Loudoun counties,but experts say enforcement partnerships between federal and local governments likely will survive.

The program, known as 287(g), deputizes local law enforcement officials to enforce some federal immigration laws. Critics have argued that it lacks direction and can lead to racial profiling.

In Virginia, Prince William and Loudoun counties, Manassas City, Manassas Park City and Herndon have partnered with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, in the program.

The program's value is probably more symbolic at this point with the expansion of another program, known as Secure Communities, said Michael Fix, senior vice president and director of research at the Migration Policy Institute. MPI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that studies the migration of people worldwide.

Through Secure Communities, local agencies can access biometric records from the Department of Homeland Security to check inmates' immigration status. Prince William and Fairfax counties have joined the program.

Experts say the comprehensive immigration reform bill introduced by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., has a long way to go. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., also is crafting a bill, and House leadership has said the Senate must proceed first, according to Doris Meissner, director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at MPI.

Meissner said the program likely would survive because the Senate bill would have to attract Republicans to pass.

"My guess is that keeping 287(g) would be one of the things that would be part of a Republican agenda, knowing how the 287(g) story has unfolded since 1996," she said.

Alan Kraut, a professor of immigration history at American University, agreed.

"I think there has to be some cooperation at different levels," he said.

Should it survive, the program could expand throughout Virginia. Rebublican Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell has said he would like to see Virginia State Police trained for the program.

dsherfinski@washingtonexaminer.com


http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local ... 79167.html

Bill jeopardizes Herndon/ICE partnership

287(g) program might be headed for the border
by Gregg MacDonald | Staff Writer

A recently introduced immigration reform bill in the U.S. House of Representatives could potentially end a federal immigration program currently used by the Town of Herndon to empower its local officers to enforce federal immigration law.

In March 2007, the Herndon Town Council voted to make Herndon the first incorporated town in America to allow U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to train and empower local officers to enforce federal immigration law under a program called 287(g).

Prince William and Loudoun counties and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park also partner with ICE in the 287(g) program.

But as of last month, some federal legislation calling for an end to the program has been introduced and referred to several House committees. The bill would instead concentrate federal security efforts at the nation's borders.

One of the provisions of HR 4321 -- the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 -- calls for the repeal of the 287(g) program and mandates that the authority to enforce federal immigration law rest solely with the federal government.

This past November, the Town of Herndon expanded its agreement with ICE, giving its local officers even broader federal powers.

Before then, immigration status checks within the town were limited to people detained for driving under the influence and other serious felonies. After the ratification of the new agreement in November, those restrictions were removed so that now anyone detained can have his immigration status checked.

"It is clear that the Herndon Police Department's application of the authority to enforce federal immigration law under the 287(g) program has been very successful and has made Herndon a much safer place to live and raise a family," Town Councilman Dennis Husch said at the time.

If 287(g) were to be dissolved under the new legislation, other ICE programs that partner with municipalities and counties could potentially achieve the same objectives.

Secure Communities, a program currently being used by Fairfax County, is an ICE initiative that focuses federal resources on identifying and removing high-risk criminal aliens held in state and local prisons. The cornerstone of the initiative is the sharing of biometric data between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

Asked this week if Herndon's Town Council is preparing for the possibility of the 287(g) federal program going away, Husch answered with a succinct "no," adding only that if it did the result would be "additional illegal aliens, gangs, crime, and other antisocial behavior."

http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/cms/story.php?id=884

Oh yeah, let's cut funding for one of the few programs that is actually Constitutionally authorized for the Federal Government - common defense.

That way, we can use the printed and borrowed non-Federal non-Reserve notes on unconstitutional welfare programs! Yeah, now we're cooking.


WHERE'S THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE?

Asked this week if Herndon's Town Council is preparing for the possibility of the 287(g) federal program going away, Husch answered with a succinct "no," adding only that if it did the result would be "additional illegal aliens, gangs, crime, and other antisocial behavior."

I like this guy!