Thread: UNC study finds problems with 287(g) program

Do you agree with a new UNC School of Law study that says the 287(g) immigration program creates a climate of racial profiling?
Yes (32)
21%
No (106)
68%
Not sure (1
12%
Total of votes : 156

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Study faults local immigration enforcement
By Kristin Collins - Staff Writer
Published: Wed, Feb. 18, 2009 10:02AM
Modified Wed, Feb. 18, 2009 10:06AM

A new report says that local immigration enforcement programs have "created a climate of racial profiling and community insecurity" in communities across North Carolina.

The report, released this morning by the UNC School of Law and the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, suggests a host of changes to the so-called 287(g) program, which allows local law enforcement agencies to identify and help deport illegal immigrants.

Eight North Carolina law enforcement agencies, including the Wake County Sheriff's Department, have enrolled in the program. More than 3,000 illegal immigrants have been deported from North Carolina as a result.

Law students reviewed the program and produced a 152-page report that says it encourages officers to target Hispanics for arrest and discourages immigrants from reporting crimes.

The report also says that in many cases local agencies are failing to comply with the terms of the agreements they made with the federal government.

For example, the agreements require agencies to have a complaint procedure for immigrants who feel they have been wrongly detained. But the researchers found no evidence of a complaint system in any of the counties they studied.

The report says the agreements should lay out clear procedures for allowing complaints, involving community members and making information available to the public.

"We found serious erosion of community trust, as well as legal concerns," said Deborah Weissman, a UNC law professor who lead the study, in a statement.
kristin.collins@newsobserver.com or 919-829-4881
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1409938.html

Study: Immigration program leads to profiling
Illegal Immigration

Posted: Today at 10:52 a.m.
Updated: 25 minutes ago

Chapel Hill, N.C. — The federal program that allows local law enforcement to identify illegal immigrants charged with crimes has created a climate of racial profiling, according to a report released Wednesday by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law.

The 287(g) immigration program, administered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, gives local law enforcement agencies access to federal immigration databases so they can identify illegal immigrants they have arrested on local charges.

Wake, Cumberland, Alamance and five other counties already participate in the program, and last year, more than 3,000 illegal immigrants were deported from North Carolina.

In Wake County, more than 1,000 people have been identified through the program, which started last July, Sheriff Donnie Harrison has said.

Orange County is one of several that recently joined a separate ICE program called Secure Communities that doesn't include the deportation training portion of 287(g).

According to the 152-page report, one of the "unexpected and problematic outcomes" of the program is reluctance among illegal immigrants to contact police if they are witnesses to or victims of crime because of the risk of being jailed or deported.

"We found serious erosion of community trust, as well as legal concerns," said Deborah Weissman, director of clinical programs at UNC's School of Law.

There are also concerns that law enforcement officers are targeting people who appear Hispanic for minor traffic offenses, the report states.

When it passed in 1996, the 286(g) program was designed to target terrorists and violent criminals. Based on the UNC study, the program is not being used for its intended purpose.

"The overwhelming number of individuals arrested pursuant to 287(g) and removed pursuant to this program have been arrested for traffic offenses, often driving without a driver's license," Weissman said.

The study, in part, is a result of concerns by the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

"North Carolina has become a national testing ground for programs between ICE and local officers," said Rebecca Headen, an attorney with the ACLU's Racial Justice Project. "This report shows North Carolina and the nation the pitfalls of those programs."

* Reporter: Bruce Mildwurf
* Photographer: Keith Baker
* Web Editor: Kelly Gardner

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/4560847/