Thread: SC: Sheriff proposes state illegal immigration program

Sheriff proposes state illegal immigration program
Published Wed, Dec 12, 2007 12:00 AM
By MICHAEL WELLES SHAPIRO
mshapiro@islandpacket.com
843-706-8142

Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner said Monday he is working with S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford to create a statewide program to address the issue of illegal immigrants in South Carolina's jails.

Tanner said he was frustrated by the county's ongoing attempt to join a federal training program called 287(g), which trains jail employees on how to process detained illegal aliens for deportation. He described the effort to become 287(g)-certified as stuck "in a holding pattern," but said he was optimistic about a statewide approach.

Tanner said the program would probably feature six or seven regional detention facilities run by the South Carolina Department of Corrections that would handle suspected illegal immigrants from around the state. Tanner didn't offer details on how inmates would be transported to the regional jails.

"We stand a better chance with having 287(g)-certified (jails) in South Carolina through this concept than we currently do trying to make it on our own," he said at a County Council meeting Monday.

He told the council that meetings that started more than a year ago between himself and federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to discuss participating in the program stalled because the county's jail is overcrowded. The jail, which is built to hold 245 detainees, currently houses 369 people, which is a record high, Tanner said.

ICE officials told Tanner in October that it wanted the county to come up with empty beds it could set aside specifically for illegal immigrants.

Almost a month ago, Tanner indicated that because some detainees in the jail were probably illegal immigrants that the county might be able to work out a deal with ICE.

But that hasn't happened and he said Monday that because, "hundreds of jurisdictions (are) applying for 287(g)," and since ICE officials choose participants based partly on bed space, that the statewide approach was the county's best bet.

Council Councilman Steve Baer, who represents Hilton Head Island and has voiced support for joining the federal program in the past said, "I have a sense of frustration that we don't have a timeline for how to get to 287(g)."

Tanner said it was still too early to know the cost of the program or when it would start, but emphasized the importance of cooperation from the governor's office.

Tanner said he hoped the program could become a national model that would replace the current system, which favors local jurisdictions based on how much bed space and money they have, but not necessarily based on their need.

"If you can get a lot of interest from the governor -- and we're seeing that interest build -- we'll be able to get Congress interested in regionalizing this great program."
http://www.beaufortgazette.com/174/story/109050.html

It's a wonderful idea. As for transportation, merely use a buses. Set up a route from county - to - County. Charge each county a rate per occupante, per mile. Shuttle the prisoners to a central location/s.

SC isn't that big.

What's all this about detention?

How long does it take to determine a person is here illegally? If they are, then it should be 'on the bus time'.

The government is willing to have them rounded up so their buddies can get fat contracts to operate detention centers.

I don't want them 'detained' - I want them deported.

What's the hold up.

Our government is playing games with us - all the way around.

We must target federal dollars for local immigration surge
By P.J. Tanner
Beaufort County Sheriff
Published Sunday, December 16, 2007


If you've read the newspaper lately, you probably saw that the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office has teamed up with senior staff in Gov. Mark Sanford's office to confront the challenge of illegal immigration in South Carolina.

On behalf of the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, I want to take this opportunity to let you know a little bit more about this cooperative effort aimed at solving a controversial problem.

Like many other states, South Carolina has seen a surge of illegal immigrants within its borders in recent years. In fact, a recent study estimates that there are over 144,000 illegal immigrants currently living in our state -- an increase of more than 1,000 percent from 15 years ago.

Not surprisingly, this influx has created additional sprawl and traffic congestion, higher levels of pollution, school overcrowding, more expensive health care and a lack of affordable housing. Additionally, a whole new set of demands has been placed on our law enforcement infrastructure, which has already taken on an expanded role in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.

This past summer, the United States Congress debated a comprehensive immigration reform bill, but in the end no action was taken. Given the magnitude of the challenge we face (combined with the federal government's failure to act), I believe state and local leaders have an obligation to look for existing ways to address the problem.

For that reason, I recently met with longtime Beaufort attorney Tom Davis -- who is currently serving in Columbia as Gov. Sanford's chief of staff -- to explore ways Beaufort County could deal with the problem and fill the "leadership vacuum" in Washington. What we found is that counties like ours can take advantage of a program established by Section 287(g) of the Illegal Immigration and Nationality Act.

This program empowers local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration law and allows participating localities to question and detain individuals for removal from the country if (in the course of processing them for committing a crime) they are identified as undocumented illegal aliens. Even better from a local budget standpoint, it provides federal money to pay for these local enforcement actions.

We believe the 287(g) program will benefit Beaufort County in three significant ways.

First, it will help law enforcement officers determine whether or not any of the individuals they currently have in custody are, in fact, illegal immigrants. By granting our local law enforcement personnel immediate and accurate information from federal databanks, we would be able to quickly identify detained individuals, ascertain their immigration status and take the appropriate action.

Second, the program would enable the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office to communicate directly with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, which would expedite the process of deporting these criminal aliens, thereby relieving a heavy burden placed on our already overcrowded prisons. The Federal Bureau of Prisons estimates that fully one-third of current prison populations in the country are comprised of illegal immigrants, which represents not only a huge drain on taxpayer resources but a legitimate public safety concern as well.

Finally, participation in the 287(g) program will result in direct tax relief for Beaufort County residents. South Carolina requested $2.6 million last year from the federal government to reimburse the state for costs associated with incarcerating criminal aliens, but the state only received a fraction of the amount requested. The balance of the money for holding these aliens ultimately fell on the backs of county taxpayers.

The assistance of Gov. Sanford's office in this matter has been and will continue to be critical since the budget crunch in Washington has made it more difficult for ICE to qualify individual counties for participation in the 287(g) program. With the governor's help, however, we stand a decent chance, especially if we coordinate our efforts with other South Carolina counties, in our attempt to regionalize the 287(g) program.

The 287(g) program is certainly

not the silver bullet that will solve the

larger issue of illegal immigration.

And of course, enforcement of immigration law is and will remain the primary responsibility of the federal government. That said, however, Beaufort County -- with help from the governor's office -- is beginning to play a much more active role in identifying and removing criminal aliens from our country, making our communities safer, and saving county taxpayers money.

P.J. Tanner is Beaufort County Sheriff. This was written in collaboration with Tom Davis, Gov. Mark Sanford's chief of staff.

http://www.islandpacket.com/opinion/let ... 06048.html

287(g) seems like a trick to bottle neck law enforcement.

This is the way I read the law. All police used to make arrest as far as I know. At least until they started shirking their duty because of rules like Special Order 40 in Los Angles.



[i]TITLE 8 > CHAPTER 12 > SUBCHAPTER II > Part VIII > § 1324

Snip...

(c) Authority to arrest
No officer or person shall have authority to make any arrests for a violation of any provision of this section except officers and employees of the Service designated by the Attorney General, either individually or as a member of a class, [color=red]and all other officers whose duty it is to enforce criminal laws.

"and all other officers whose duty it is to enforce criminal laws.â€