MARCH 3, 2009, 7:03 P.M. ET
Study Finds ICE Program Expanded Without Proper Oversight
Wall St. Journal On-Line
By MIRIAM JORDAN

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement program that trains local police to arrest illegal immigrants suspected of committing serious crimes has expanded without appropriate oversight, leading to the arrest of thousands for minor infractions, according to a study scheduled to be released Wednesday.

The Government Accountability Office report comes amid calls from human-rights organizations and immigrant advocates for former Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, in her new role as secretary of Homeland Security, to bring down the curtain on the so-called 287g program. The program has been a symbol of the Bush administration's crackdown on illegal immigration.

The GAO review, requested by the House and Senate homeland-security panels, found that program participants used their 287g authority "to process individuals for minor crimes, such as speeding, contrary to the objective of the program."

ICE, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, has touted the program as a public-safety measure designed to deport immigrants who committed serious crimes.

The GAO report said that ICE hasn't established clear objectives or supervision for the program after training local law enforcement. More than half of the 29 participating agencies that the GAO contacted for its study reported concerns from community members that the program led to racial profiling and intimidation.

An estimated 12 million immigrants, mainly from Latin America, live in the U.S. illegally. Since January 2006, the program has arrested more than 79,000 individuals suspected of being in the country illegally. More than 950 state and local law-enforcement officials, including highway patrol, sheriff deputies and police, have been trained and certified through the program in 67 jurisdictions, including Alabama, Florida, Arizona and California.

The 287g program has been hailed by politicians and groups who favor tough measures, particularly deportation, to punish people in the country illegally. But there has been growing criticism of the program by immigrant groups and Democratic leaders since President Barack Obama took office.

One of the program's biggest advocates has been Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of Arizona's Maricopa County. His deputies have arrested more than 1,400 people in the Phoenix area for immigration violations since the county partnered with ICE in 2007.

Last month, Sheriff Arpaio marched about 200 illegal immigrants in shackles and prison stripes from the county jail to a "Tent City" where inmates are housed. On Saturday, 5,000 immigration activists from across the country descended on Phoenix to protest the sheriff's actions.

"Sheriff Arpaio is the poster boy for all that is wrong with the 287g program," said Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, an advocacy group.

Last week, four Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee asked Secretary Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate whether Mr. Arpaio's deputies have used skin color as a pretense to stop Hispanics and arrest illegal immigrants. The four Democrats have also called on Secretary Napolitano to terminate the Maricopa County agreement if irregularities cannot be addressed.

ICE referred all the questions about the 287g program to the Homeland Security Department. "Secretary Napolitano is undertaking a broad review of all immigration and border-security programs, policies and initiatives, specifically the 287g program," said Amy Kudwa, a spokeswoman for the department.

On Wednesday, the House homeland-security panel will hold a hearing to receive testimony about the 287g program. The GAO report, which is entitled "Better Controls Needed Over Program Authorizing State and Local Enforcement of Federal Immigration Laws," will be presented during the session.

The GAO report comes as scrutiny of the 287g program has intensified.

Last week, Justice Strategies, a nonprofit research group, said in its own report about the program that enforcing immigration has distracted local police from their mission of tackling crime and keeping communities safe. The report also said that the ICE program placed a financial burden on states and localities that participate.

Comprehensive immigration reform, which Congress has failed to pass, should be the goal of the Obama administration, according to the report. The 287g program "amounts to a local and state bailout of the failed federal immigration enforcement business," the report says.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123612361681523585.html

Posted by lois at March 3, 2009 09:47 PM

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