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  1. #1
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Collier among most active in U.S. in 287(g) deportation program; will it be renewed?

    Collier among most active in U.S. in 287(g) deportation program; will it be renewed?

    By VICTORIA MACCHI
    Naples Daily News
    Posted October 7, 2012 at 7 a.m.

    By the numbers

    The top 15 U.S. agencies utilizing 287(g) accounted for 87 percent of total deportations through the program, from 2006 through part of 2011.

    By number of deportations:
    Los Angeles County (Calif.) Sheriff’s Office: 14,658
    Harris County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office: 10,743
    Orange County (Calif.) Sheriff’s Office: 9,705
    San Bernardino County (Calif.) Sheriff’s Office: 9,281
    Mecklenburg County (N.C.) Sheriff’s Office: 6,618
    Davidson County (Tenn.) Sheriff’s Office: 5,623
    Cobb County (Ga.) Sheriff’s Office: 5,368
    Arizona Department of Corrections: 5,283
    Riverside County (Calif.) Sheriff’s Office: 3,614
    Tulsa County (Okla.) Sheriff’s Office: 2,983
    Wake County (N.C.) Sheriff’s Office: 2,861
    Las Vegas (Nev.) Metropolitan Police Department: 2,585
    Collier County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office: 2,191
    Hall County (Ga.) Sheriff’s Office: 1,992
    Colorado Department of Public Safety: 1,703

    Documents


    NAPLES —Since a much-debated immigration enforcement program started in Collier County five years ago, the Sheriff's Office has detained enough unauthorized immigrants to fill every other seat at a Germain Arena concert.

    New data obtained by the Daily News shows ICE processed 4,316 individuals for deportation from the county since the 287(g) partnership began in 2007 between the Collier Sheriff's Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

    For the majority of those detained, the Collier County jail was their last local stop before federal custody and ultimately, deportation to their home countries.

    And that number may be a deciding factor as to whether 18 Collier deputies trained by ICE will continue to perform the federal functions of identifying and detaining undocumented immigrants.

    Collier deputies have turned over to federal immigration agents more undocumented immigrants under 287(g) than any other Florida agency operating the program.

    A week remains before the agreement to collaborate expires in Collier, and ICE has yet to announce whether the partnership will continue.

    Collier isn't alone. The majority of agreements between the federal agency and 62 law enforcement entities in 24 states are slated to expire in October or November. That includes three others in Florida: the Jacksonville and Bay County sheriffs' offices and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

    "At this point in time, all 287(g) agreements up for review are still being considered and no determinations on renewals have been made," said Carissa Cutrell, a spokeswoman for ICE, which oversees the program.

    ICE plans to cut what it calls the "lowest-performing" 287(g) task forces, but it remains unclear how Collier will be affected by the scale-back.

    The top 15 agencies still participating in 287(g) nationwide — including Collier — yielded 87 percent of deportations, a Daily News review of ICE data from 2006 through part of 2011 shows.

    Collier ranks 13th in the nation, behind police agencies in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Houston, in the number of deportations resulting from 287(g) during that period.

    To date, participating agencies detained about 300,000 people under 287(g) agreements nationally since 2006, according to ICE.

    The Collier Sheriff's Office leads the four Florida agencies currently involved in the program, accounting for 66 percent of the total individuals in the state processed for removal from the U.S. under 287(g) to date.

    At its core, 287(g) is ICE — a federal agency — delegating part of its duties to local law enforcement. There are more local officers than ICE agents, which translates to more officers looking for undocumented immigrants. But in practice, while leading to the removal of immigration violators, sharing those powers also created controversy and court cases.

    Here's a rundown of how the program functions, and what that means for Collier County:

    Q. Who is considered "illegal," "undocumented," or "unauthorized"?
    A. The terms are used to describe non-citizens who entered the country unlawfully or came legally, but overstayed a visa or had their immigration status revoked.

    Q. How many undocumented immigrants are there in Collier County?
    A. There were 11.9 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. in March 2008, according to a Pew Hispanic Center estimate. Florida was third behind California and Texas, with roughly 1.1 million. There is no Collier-specific data, but 32 percent of Collier's population of nearly 78,000 immigrants are naturalized citizens, according to 2011 U.S. Census Bureau estimates. The remainder includes legal permanent residents, visa holders and undocumented aliens, among others. Immigration status isn't asked by the Census.

    Q. How does 287(g) work?
    A. The 287(g) programs are implemented in two ways: a task force model, with 287(g)-trained officers investigating, interviewing, and detaining suspected immigration violators beyond what regular deputies can, and the jail model, where deputies determine through questioning and documents whether people arrested are in the country legally. Agencies could sign on to one or both, like the Collier County Sheriff's Office did.

    The state and local agencies don't deport anyone, however. Once a local law enforcement agency detains an individual, ICE determines the next step. This can include the individual being deemed a low-priority and released, or sent before an immigration judge. The judge — in Miami for most Collier immigration violators — makes the final determination on removal.

    Before local-federal partnerships, federal immigration agents often relied on focused raids, like on a business employing undocumented workers, rather than through daily reports from local agencies on people suspected of violating immigration law.

    Q. Why is 287(g) controversial?
    A. Proponents of 287(g), like former Collier Sheriff Don Hunter, say the program is effective in removing criminals and law-breakers. ICE insists that repeat immigration violators and violent or career criminals are priorities, and in Collier there are examples of such deportees.

    Marco Island Police Chief Don Hunter on NewsMakers 9-23-12.

    Program opponents agree that in many cases, deportation is warranted. But they point to discrimination as an inherent problem with 287(g), and there is evidence in their favor. Earlier this year, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office in Arizona and, most recently in September, North Carolina's Alamance County Sheriff's Office, were stripped of their 287(g) agreements over discriminatory practices in carrying out the program.

    "(We) believe the tendency for violations such as those in Alamance County to happen under 287(g) agreements is reason enough not to renew Collier's," Doug Wilson, president of the Collier County ACLU, told the Daily News in a statement.

    There also are an estimated 5,100 children in foster care because of detentions or deportations, according to a 2011 report by the Applied Research Center, including 17 in Collier County.

    Hunter, who first signed Collier onto the ICE agreement in 2007, is unapologetic: "The fact that they have family here is not on us. It's on the individual who made the decision to bring their family here."

    Q. Why is the government cutting funding to 287(g)?
    A. The review of the program comes ahead of a planned $17 million slash to the $68 million 287(g) budget this coming fiscal year. Cutting low-yielding 287(g) programs will save ICE money, since the agency pays out reimbursements per detainee, and in Collier that has amounted to at least $1.3 million over the years, according to the Sheriff's Office.
    ICE plans to spend $2.8 billion on enforcement and deportation in 2013, focused on expanding the Secure Communities program, which relies on information sharing and database access between local and federal agencies but doesn't confer federal duties on local officers.

    Every inmate's information is checked against immigration files to find violators. From October 2008 through July 2011, participation in Secure Communities led to 1,525 deportations from Collier — second highest in state behind Miami-Dade County — while in Lee, 404 inmates were removed from the country as a result of the program.

    Q. What is the future of 287(g)?

    A. If no renewal is signed by ICE and the Collier Sheriff's Office when the current agreement ends Oct. 15, a temporary accord must be established, or local deputies cannot continue performing immigration enforcement duties as they have since 2007.

    Collier Sheriff Kevin Rambosk is a staunch supporter of 287(g) , which is named for the section of federal law that created the ICE partnerships with local law enforcement, and has told the Daily News on several occasions he intends for it to stay.

    "We have implemented this program sensibly and have employed best practices to ensure that it is administered fairly and in accordance with the law," the sheriff said in response to an anti-287(g) petition presented at the Sheriff's Office on Oct. 1.

    Collier among most active in U.S. in 287(g) deportation program; will it be renewed? » Naples Daily News
    Last edited by JohnDoe2; 12-08-2012 at 12:52 PM.
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    Don't reward the criminal actions of millions of illegal aliens by giving them citizenship.


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  2. #2
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    NO AMNESTY

    Don't reward the criminal actions of millions of illegal aliens by giving them citizenship.


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    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Read the text of Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk's statement about the 287(g) program

    • Posted December 8, 2012 at 3 a.m.


    Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk on NewsMakers 11-18-12.



    "In response to the petition from the Florida ACLU calling for the termination of the 287(g) program here in Florida, I would like to point out a few errors in their analysis which seem to be reoccurring in various publications opposed to this effective program.

    "First and foremost, the concern of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office is the public safety. Everything we do as a policing agency is focused on making the community safer. In the petition, the ACLU has questioned whether the CCSO is “100% focused on public safety” if our resources are used to enforce federal immigration law. Since the inception of this program in Collier County, those individuals set up for removal proceedings under the 287g program have been responsible for the commission of over 27,000 crimes nationwide. I would leave it up to the community to decide if removing those individuals has a nexus to public safety; I would suggest that it clearly does.


    "Secondly, the ACLU has stated that the 287(g) program has “produced countless complaints about abusive police practices [and] racial and ethnic profiling…” I have repeatedly pointed out, and do so again, that to my knowledge there has not been one single complaint about the operation of our 287(g) program, or the actions of one of our deputies related to that program, made to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office Professional Responsibility Bureau, the Department of Justice or the Department of Homeland Security, Florida Department of Law Enforcement nor any other agency as far as I am aware. If there is evidence that a deputy has acted in violation of the law, been abusive or otherwise, the CCSO and its ICE partners need to see that information. If something is being done improperly, we need to fix it; however, merely lobbing accusations of racism without any evidence helps no one.

    "Finally, it has been repeatedly stated that the 287g program targets those who are apprehended for misdemeanors, traffic violations and non-criminal immigration offenses. To clarify, the over 4,000 individuals set up for removal under the 287)g) program in Collier County average over 6 crimes committed each. Although the arrest that brought them into the jail may have been minor, a background check often reveals an extensive prior criminal history and often, multiple identities. The statistics illustrate the inaccuracy of this complaint.

    Anecdotes aside, this program has always been and will continue to be about removing criminals from the population of Collier County."

    http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2012/dec/08/read-text-collier-county-sheriff-kevin-rambosks-st/
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    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    ACLU Florida urges U.S. leaders to end 287(g) deportation program Collier uses



    Text of Rambosk statement

    Read the text of Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk's statement about the 287(g) program

    Poll
    Should Collier County continue with its 287(g) program?
    Yes, as is
    Yes, but only turn over arrested felons
    Yes, but only after a conviction
    No
    I don't know
    See the results »
    View previous polls »

    NAPLES —In a letter to state-based politicians Friday, the ACLU of Florida urged an end to a controversial immigration enforcement policy in which Collier County participates.

    Under scrutiny is the 287(g) policy, set to expire at year's end, that allows local police to act as immigration enforcers.

    The program "does not belong anywhere in Florida," said Howard Simon, ACLU of Florida executive director, in a letter to Florida's U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, a Republican, and Bill Nelson, a Democrat, along with outgoing Rep. Connie Mack IV, R-Fort Myers, and several other state and local officials.

    Rubio and Nelson weren't immediately available for comment Friday; Mack's office declined comment.

    The ACLU contends the policy leads to racial profiling and "generating fear and a marked mistrust of police among both documented and undocumented individuals in the Latino community."

    About 50 organizations in Florida signed the letter, including locally the Redlands Christian Migrant Association, Interfaith Action and the Naples United Church of Christ.

    The ACLU's national office submitted a similar letter Friday to Janet Napolitano, secretary of Homeland Security, the agency that oversees immigration policy.
    The Collier County Sheriff's Office is one 57 law enforcement agencies in 21 states currently participating in 287(g), and Sheriff Kevin Rambosk has been a vocal proponent of continuing the policy locally.

    After the ACLU of Florida made public its appeal Friday, Rambosk countered the letter in a written statement to the Daily News:
    "In the petition, the ACLU has questioned whether the CCSO is '100 percent focused on public safety' if our resources are used to enforce federal immigration law," Rambosk wrote. "Since the inception of this program in Collier County, those individuals set up for removal proceedings under the 287g program (here) have been responsible for the commission of over 27,000 crimes nationwide.

    "I would leave it up to the community to decide if removing those individuals has a nexus to public safety; I would suggest that it clearly does," Rambosk stated.

    Data obtained by the Daily News in September showed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processed 4,316 people for deportation from the county since the 287(g) partnership began in 2007 between the Collier Sheriff's Office and ICE.

    The Collier and Jacksonville sheriff's offices were singled out by the ACLU of Florida, as they are the agencies most actively involved in detaining undocumented immigrants through 287(g).

    The 287(g) program allows law enforcement officers who have been federally trained to question and detain individuals suspected of being in the country illegally. The detainees then are turned over to ICE and ultimately go before an immigration judge, who determines whether they will be deported.

    The policy is criticized for casting a net so wide in immigration enforcement that undocumented immigrants are detained and removed for minor offenses, which the administration repeatedly has said isn't the priority for the program.
    The letter comes a week after the ACLU of Florida created an online petition to raise awareness around the state about the program. It received 2,000 signatures, according to the organization.

    "Ending 287(g) will ensure that local police attention is 100 percent focused on public safety in their communities by leaving immigration enforcement to federal authorities where it belongs," the petition read in part.

    Grey Torrico, an activist who has organized social actions locally against 287(g) and sits on the ACLU of Collier County legal panel, pushed for the statewide petition.

    "Earlier this year, we thought it (the program) was going to be eliminated. We're trying to make sure that happens," Torrico said Friday.

    The Department of Homeland Security announced in February it would scale back 287(g) in favor of Secure Communities, a database-sharing program that allows local and federal law enforcement agencies to share immigration status information.

    http://news.google.com/news/url?sr=1&ct2=us%2F3_0_s_0_1_a&sa=t&usg=AFQjCNHAOQP-R8LTCVMYfVZV7chhJT138A&cid=43981945046066&url=http %3A%2F%2Fwww.naplesnews.com%2Fnews%2F2012%2Fdec%2F 08%2Faclu-florida-urges-us-leaders-to-end-287g-uses%2F&ei=BnXDUOCpO-qxiQL0Pg&sig2=pn8osjn8a7tzRd_vJbvLWQ&rt=HOMEPAGE&v m=STANDARD&bvm=section&twa=f&did=79528930605927989 34&sid=2db9d54d6edf615c
    NO AMNESTY

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    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    NO AMNESTY

    Don't reward the criminal actions of millions of illegal aliens by giving them citizenship.


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