Thread: This Is How Things Got So Bad

The Obama Administration’s 287(g): An Analysis of the New MOA

By Jon Feere
October 2009
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Jon Feere is the Legal Policy Analyst at the Center for Immigration Studies.
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The Obama administration may have begun to undermine one of the most successful immigration enforcement programs in the country. Known as 287(g), the program allows trained state and local law enforcement officials to assist federal immigration agencies in carrying out immigration enforcement. Since the beginning of 2006, state and local law enforcement officials have identified over 120,000 illegal aliens for removal. As of this writing, 77 jurisdictions in 25 states have signed on to the program.

But it seems the program is working too well. According to Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), two authors of the 287(g) program, the Department of Homeland Security has made changes to the program that may slow the program’s growth and endanger community safety by providing a free pass to many illegal aliens in the country. A revised Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) template has been issued by DHS and all current and future participants in the 287(g) program will have to sign it despite the fact that it advances legal inaccuracies, affirmatively makes some illegal aliens a low priority, suggests a distrust of local law enforcement, and arguably embraces a pre-9/11 mentality. A number of local 287(g) agencies are trying to negotiate modifications to the new DHS template agreement, but it remains unclear to what extent they will be successful.

The following is an analysis of some of the potentially problematic changes. A number of earlier MOAs are available online, and the new MOA is available on our website.

"New 287(g) MOA Language Misinterprets Statutory Law. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is contradicting statutory law and congressional intent by redefining and narrowing the scope of 287(g), and by claiming it is designed to only support local law enforcement’s identification of “dangerous criminal aliens.â€

Shameful...Our PC country has lost all direction...

Originally Posted by hardlineconstitutionalist

Shameful...Our PC country has lost all direction...

Like Joe the Plumber says, "I'm not PC, as in Politically Castrated." Only those Politically Castrated are afraid to speak the truth about illegal immigration and call a duck a duck!