What is 287(g)? — Never Again Action

The short, TL;DR version:

287(g) deputizes local law enforcement to serve as federal immigration agents. Having powers usually reserved for ICE allows them to separate families and deport individuals, all without oversight. The program is popular among agencies with proven track records of xenophobia and has grown more powerful over the last two decades. The literal and figurative costs are staggering, with taxpayers losing millions of dollars per year to this program, while families struggle to stay together.

The full explainer:

287(g) is a discriminatory federal program that turns local law enforcement into immigration agents with the power to investigate immigration status and separate families.

For the last 21 years, 287(g) has enabled racist sheriffs to terrorize immigrant populations, sowing distrust between predominantly Latine residents and local law enforcement. First implemented in response to the 9/11 attacks (1), this reactionary addition to the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 endowed police with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) deportation abilities as punishment for minor offenses, including misdemeanors (2). ICE has been thrilled by the extension of its own power, referring to the program proudly as a “force multiplier.” (3)

With ICE’s “oversight” (more on that issue later), local authorities who sign onto the 287(g) agreement follow one of two models:

Under the Jail Enforcement Agreement, local police do all of ICE’s work from initial screenings for immigration status, to kicking off the deportation process.
Under the Warrant Service Officer Model, police work as ICE’s lapdogs, identifying foreign-born individuals in the booking process and referring them to ICE to handle the rest of the procedures.

Unsurprisingly, the Jail Enforcement model is the popular choice amongst the most racist sheriffs.

Under 287(g), racial profiling has flourished and local authorities have gone beyond the bounds of the law to get the results they want.

For example, in Frederick County, MD, the local sheriff shifted to a requirement that everyone arrested by his department be brought to the local county jail for an immigration background check as part of the booking process. This resulted in dubious arrests for extremely minor offenses like traffic violations, for the purpose of immigration enforcement and deportation (4).

Meanwhile, an investigation of the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina found evidence of discrimination based on race and national origin (5). Following that, a 2011 report found Maricopa County Police in Arizona guilty of racial profiling and illegally stopping individuals of Hispanic descent without probable cause, and found that the jails were discriminatory towards individuals with limited English proficiency (6).

Of course, many more agencies have not been investigated due to victims’ lack of access to legal counsel, or because they were deported before they could report abuse (7).

This has absolutely benefitted white supremacists who have authoritative power. According to the ACLU:

At least 59% of sheriffs participating in 287(g) have extensive records of xenophobic and anti-immigration rhetoric.
At least 55% of sheriffs involved in the program have openly advocated for inhumane immigration policies and have promoted misinformation to spread further hatred and distrust towards immigrants.
More than 65% of agencies involved have records of racial profiling and other civil rights violations.
More than 77% of agencies run detention centers that have been exposed as having inhumane conditions (8).

Where was ICE’s supposed oversight?

According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s January 2021 report: “ICE generally did not track or report results for the prior performance measures from fiscal years 2015 through 2020” (9). Even this damning report is generously entitled: “ICE Can Further Enhance Its Planning and Oversight of State and Local Agreements.” Oh, it can, can it?

As the 287(g) program expanded over the last two decades, 80% of the new agencies joining were in the south. But the reasons weren’t a higher crime rate, increased violence, or property damage (10). Instead, the one common factor these agencies had was a change in demographics (11).

87% of the involved counties had experienced a growth in their Latine population that outpaced the national average. Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell opened the door to North Carolina’s increased participation in 287(g), while openly admitting that his reason for joining the program was to reduce the number of immigrants (12).

So why would ICE actually perform oversight when the goal was always to punish immigrants?

In fact, racism and hostility towards immigrants is a feature, not a bug. After a damning report from the Department of Justice, only 34 agencies remained affiliated with 287(g) until 2017 (8). The Trump administration’s recruitment efforts turned towards explicit anti-immigrant hatred, according to the ACLU, which quintupled the number of agencies affiliated with the program.

The cost has been tremendous – and that includes the most literal sense of the word.

287(g) bleeds millions of dollars annually in each affiliated county and has resulted in raising taxes for locals. “Before DHS revoked its 287(g) agreement with Maricopa County, Arizona, in 2011, Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s office created a $1.3 million deficit in just three months, much of it due to overtime” (13). This one office is among many documented examples throughout the nation of the staggering price citizens pay for this program, which is reflected in reports from specific states, as well as nation-wide.

Despite Biden’s promise to “end all the agreements entered into by the Trump Administration,” all 140 law enforcement agencies that joined the 287(g) program during the Trump era are still part of the program. In fact, Biden’s administration seems to be so fond of covering for this program, and providing such little oversight, that they haven’t released a Monthly 287(g) Encounter Report since Biden took office. So much for that revolutionary immigration reform he promised.

*Source:* https://www.ice.gov/identify-and-arrest/287g

Since 2002, the 287(g) program has inflicted harsh punishments on immigrants that vastly outweigh the crimes committed. The constant threat of deportation has destroyed trust between Latine communities and law enforcement agencies, many of which are led by openly xenophobic sheriffs. While law enforcement profits tremendously from the overtime and extreme lack of oversight, Biden seems to think this is all perfectly fine. Something has to change.

So what can we do about it?

Write a letter to the DHS demanding the end of 287(g).
Get educated on this topic and spread the word.
Become a member of NAA to learn how you can make a difference.
Follow and support Voces de la Frontera, ICE out of Tarrant, and LORI, who are all fighting to end their local 287(g) contracts.

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