The 287 (g) program allows local and state law-enforcement agencies to enter into agreements with the federal government that let designated officers enforce federal immigration laws.

Nationwide, 63 state and local agencies have signed such agreements. The program is credited with the identification of more than 70,000 illegal immigrants, mostly in jails, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Arizona is the biggest participant in the program, with seven agencies: the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Arizona Department of Corrections, the Phoenix and Mesa police departments, and the sheriff's offices in Maricopa, Yavapai and Pinal counties.

Of the 840 state and local officers nationwide trained to enforce immigration laws under the program, 323 of them, or 38 percent, work in Arizona. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office has enrolled more deputies and jail officers - 160 - than any other agency in the nation.

Arpaio's office has conducted neighborhood sweeps over the past 18 months that resulted in the arrests of at least 1,476 illegal immigrants for federal immigration violations. In addition, detention officers trained to check the immigration status of every inmate booked into jail have turned over 21,472 illegal immigrants to federal authorities for deportation.


4 key Dems in Congress seek inquiry into Arpaio sweeps

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