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IMMIGRATION LAW ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2006
Title I, State and Local Law Enforcement Cooperation in the Enforcement of Immigration Law Act
What it Does
This title grants state and local police the authority to enforce all federal immigration laws. This includes not only criminal violations, but also civil violations of U.S. immigration laws. If this bill becomes law, any state and local police officer would have the authority to investigate the immigration status of people who have not committed crimes, and to investigate private citizens and businesses they suspect have hired undocumented workers.The title does not require police to report the immigration status of crime victims and witnesses to federal immigration agents. But it does not prohibit this either, nor address other concerns with state and local enforcement of federal immigration laws.
Legislative History
In the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, Congress created a program in which state and local police who want to help enforce federal immigration laws can receive training, enter into a formal agreement with the federal government, and assist in immigration law enforcement in partnership with federal authorities. This is known as a 287(g) agreement or a Memorandum of Understanding. Prior to September 11th, no state or local police agency had entered into an MOU. By 2006, a handful of agencies participate in MOUs, although some are limited to enforcement of immigration laws against criminals or in the context of national security.
In the 108th Congress, a bill to expand the authority of all state and local police to enforce immigration laws without an MOU was introduced but did not advance, due to widespread opposition from state and local law enforcement. The CLEAR Act (H.R. 3137) was reintroduced in the 109th Congress, and adopted as a floor amendment to H.R. 4437 by a vote of 237 to 180). Provisions from Title I were taken directly from H.R. 3137/H.R. 4437.

http://www.numbersusa.com/hottopic/clearact.html

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h109-3137