Latest news with #287(g
The Herald Scotland
13 hours ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Trump's National Guard immigration enforcement could divide states
Guard troops under state authority are not subject to laws barring the military from directly participating in civilian law enforcement activities. The Trump administration, according to CNN, is assessing whether DHS can send requested National Guard troops sourced from red states -- such as from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's Texas -- into blue states like California, where Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is unlikely to authorize his troops to support DHS/ICE under state orders. Stephen Miller, the White House's deputy chief of staff for domestic policy, has previously floated the idea of such deployments. "You go to the red state governors and you say, 'Give us your National Guard.' We will deputize them as immigration enforcement officers," Miller said in a 2023 podcast interview with conservative activist Charlie Kirk. "If you're going to go into an unfriendly state like Maryland, when then it will just be Virginia doing the arrest in Maryland." Legal experts and former DHS officials who spoke with USA TODAY emphasized the unprecedented nature of such a proposal. John Sandweg, an attorney who served as ICE's acting director and as acting general counsel for DHS, said using the Guard for interior enforcement in unwilling states would "push the envelope of the idea of the state militia and National Guard." Sandweg said such an arrangement would be "very consistent with everything we're seeing" from the Trump administration, which relied on an obscure law only used once before (to break a U.S. Postal Service strike in 1970) when Trump overrode Newsom and took control of a significant portion of the California National Guard. The DHS request, if filled, would also radically depart from the Guard's historical role in immigration enforcement, which has been limited to border security under every administration since that of former President George W. Bush. The White House referred USA TODAY to DHS, which did not immediately respond to an inquiry. The Pentagon did not respond to a query from USA TODAY. "We very much support President Trump's focus on defending the homeland on our southern border, as well as supporting law enforcement officials doing their job in ICE in Los Angeles," Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth said at a June 11 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. Return of ICE partnership program The DHS proposal called for the 20,000 National Guard troops operating under what is known as Title 32 authority. In that situation, the federal government picks up the tab but governors retain command authority. But the request memo, which USA TODAY obtained, specifies that the Guardsmen would then work for ICE through a partnership program known as 287(g). In recent months, the Trump administration has dramatically increased ICE's reach through the 287(g) partnership program by reestablishing its "task force" model. ICE confirmed receipt of questions from USA TODAY regarding the 287(g) program but did not respond before publication. The 287(g) program, which began in 1996, allows DHS and ICE to delegate immigration enforcement authority to local and state law enforcement agencies, whose officers then receive training from ICE. The state and local authorities are "deputized to enforce certain aspects of immigration law," according to Texas A&M law professor Huyen Pham. Once qualified, participating personnel from local/state agencies with task force agreements can join up with ICE-led immigration enforcement task forces, according to the agency website. But concerns over racial profiling by partner agencies and relative inefficiency compared to other programs led DHS to terminate all task force agreements during the Obama administration. The Trump administration has rapidly revived the model. Publicly available ICE data shows that between Inauguration Day and June 12, the administration inked 287(g) task force partnerships with 338 new local and state law enforcement agencies. That includes four states where the National Guard's state leader has signed an ICE task force agreement: Texas, Florida, Louisiana (via its parent agency, the Louisiana Military Department) and West Virginia. More: More than 600 local police agencies are partnering with ICE: See if yours is one of them It's unclear what specific roles Guard troops from those states play alongside DHS, though Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis included the Florida National Guard in a list of agencies he thanked for their role in an April series of statewide immigration raids. But whether 287(g) task force participants can operate across state lines is another, legally untested matter. Joe Maher, who was the top career lawyer in DHS from 2011 to 2024, said interstate use of the authority was "never proposed" during his time with the department. Pham described the idea as "uncharted territory." Although Trump during his first administration deployed red state National Guard troops in state-controlled status into Washington, D.C. to quell civil unrest in June 2020, without the consent of local officials, experts believe there are constitutional problems with federal task forces taking state-controlled Guardsmen into unwilling states. But some, including legal scholars from New York University's Brennan Center, have argued a potential loophole exists unless Congress bans using the National Guard to enforce the law in other states without gubernatorial consent. Citing Alexander Hamilton's writing in the Federalist Papers, Maher said the framers "didn't think of having one state's militia or National Guard ... do law enforcement in another state that does not want that to happen." The Insurrection Act One state's adjutant general, who requested anonymity to discuss future operations, said he believes the administration is unlikely to take National Guard troops into unwilling states unless the Insurrection Act is invoked. The Insurrection Act allows the president to use active duty troops -- including National Guard members federalized under presidential authority, as 4,000 members of the California National Guard currently are -- to directly enforce laws without restriction. At that point, state consent largely wouldn't influence deployment decisions. Trump directed the Pentagon and DHS to study using the act for immigration enforcement in an executive order signed the first day of his second term. Although he has not invoked the Insurrection Act amid the anti-ICE protests or the ongoing deportation push, Trump said he would consider doing so if ongoing unrest worsened. Former Rep. Bill Enyart, D-Illinois, a retired two-star general who led the Illinois National Guard, said using the Insurrection Act for a deportation push would be "an overreach by the federal government." Enyart, also an attorney, argued that previous invocations of the law to override governors -- such as when President John F. Kennedy federalized the Alabama National Guard to enforce racial integration at the University of Alabama -- were "defending the civil rights" of the states' citizens. "This is pretty clearly a different situation," Enyart said. Contributing: Tom Vanden Brook and Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Greene Co. sheriff explains 287(g) partnership with ICE
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — It wasn't long after Wesley Holt became sheriff in Greene County in 2018 that he thought partnering with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency would be good for his department and the county. At that time, Greene County was just the second jurisdiction in the state to be a part of the 287(g) program with its Jail Enforcement Model. 'There is a right way to come to our country and there's a wrong way to come to our country,' explained Holt as to why he signed on to the program. 'And it kind of defeats the purpose for the people that have done the right way to come to our country and become natural citizens, and those that are just coming across the border and being here free.' The way the 287(g) Jail Enforcement Model works is that ICE provides a month-long training class for qualified jailers and computer equipment for them to be able to check the immigration status of those already under arrest in the county. 'Anybody that's arrested into our facility, we go through a booking process and we have one question that says, 'have you, were you born in United States?'' John Key, the Greene County Jail Administrator, told News Channel 11. 'If I answer no to that question, it automatically triggers us to run them through the Immigration and Customs Enforcement program, to see if they have outstanding warrants or warrants to be deported from the country.' Key says the system usually provides an answer about immigration status within an hour, but if an arrestee bonds out before an answer is known, the county doesn't hold them pending an answer. If it turns out the person is here illegally, the sheriff's department notifies ICE agents and informs them of the next court date. But suspects aren't automatically deported until their local case is concluded. 'They have to satisfy any local sentence that they may receive, and once that sentence is satisfied, if they have a detainer, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have 72 hours to take them out of our custody,' explained Key. Those who have been detained or deported after being arrested in Greene County aren't always who you might think. 'They [ICE] picked people back [up] from Russia and Eastern Europe, France. Maybe they just overstayed a work visa, or they've overstayed a tourist visa, or they've overstayed even a student visa,' said Key. But some of those detained have been accused criminals, said Sheriff Holt. He said that those people don't need to be in Greene County. 'We might get them in here to the jail, they might come in on the DUI, but once we run them through the system, they may be going for statutory rape or anything like that. Criminal charges that they don't need to be on our streets here in Greene County or the State of Tennessee. They need to be deported back to where they came from if they're here illegally,' said Sheriff Holt. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Moody rolls out bill to allow states to assist in immigration enforcement amid violent LA anti-ICE riots
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Ashley Moody introduced a measure that would enable states to assist in immigration enforcement by allowing non-federal law enforcement officers to act as a "force multiplier" for federal immigration officers. The bill, called "The Reimbursement Immigration Partnerships with Police to Allow Local Law Enforcement Act," or the "RIPPLE Act," is an expansion of the 287 (g) program that enables states to assist in immigration enforcement. Florida Sen Moody Rolls Out Measure To Expedite Removal Of Criminal Illegal Immigrants The bill would expand eligible reimbursable expenses to state and local law enforcement agencies participating in the 287 (g) program. A Moody aide said the bill would also enable non-federal law enforcement agencies to commit already sworn officers to immigration enforcement so that they can act as a "force multiplier" for federal immigration enforcement in the short term, while hiring, training, and on-boarding new federal officers is underway. The aide said that is a "more time-intense process." "Expanding the 287(g) program will provide resources to state law enforcement to more efficiently get dangerous criminals out of our communities," Moody, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. "Right now, we are watching disorder and chaos spread through California. This bill will ensure that our local, state and federal law enforcement have the resources they need to hold those who break the law accountable." Read On The Fox News App She added: "This lawlessness will not be tolerated." Moody said that as a U.S. Senator, she will "continue to work with President Trump to not only reverse the failures of the Biden administration but ensure that it can never happen again—the RIPPLE Act and The Stop Government Abandonment and Placement Scandals (Stop GAPS) Act are critical steps." Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., introduced the companion legislation in the House of Representatives. "Amid the escalating civil unrest in Los Angeles, our law enforcement officers, with unwavering courage, face life-threatening situations while upholding the rule of law and protecting communities from the chaos of riots," Lee told Fox News Digital. "Their actions demonstrate a selfless dedication to preserving our nation's security and values." Lee said the bill "ensures that local law enforcement officers have the support they need to help enforce immigration laws." Patel Promises Fbi Coming For Anyone Assaulting Cops As Los Angeles Erupts Over Ice Raids "By covering overtime pay and key personnel costs, this bill ensures that local, state, and federal law enforcement officers can work together to stop the chaos and lawlessness in California, and to ensure our immigration laws are followed across America," Lee said. The introduction of the legislation comes amid violent riots in Los Angeles, Calif., with demonstrators violently protesting Trump administration immigration enforcement efforts. The president has deployed thousands of National Guardsmen and women to the streets of Los Angeles. The president also authorized 700 Marine officers to help protect federal buildings and federal law enforcement. Meanwhile, Moody also introduced a bill that would strike existing law that allows the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to place unaccompanied children with any adult or entity seeking custody. The bill, called the "Stop Government Abandonment and Placement Scandals Act," or the "Stop GAPS" Act, would require ORR to work with states to help find homes and proper placements for minors. It would also require ORR to track these children for the duration of their stay in the U.S. while immigration proceedings are ongoing. ORR is a division of the Department of Health and Human Services that is responsible for coordinating the care and placement of refugees—including unaccompanied children who arrive in the United States. Federal Officials Slam Democrats For 'Dangerous' Rhetoric As Ice Agents Face Violent Mobs In La, Nyc According to Moody's office, when children arrive in the United States without a parent or legal guardian, they are initially processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They are then transferred to the custody of the ORR, which is then responsible for their care and placement. A Moody aide told Fox News Digital that the Biden administration "infamously lost track of tens of thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children, many of whom were placed into dangerous situations." "The Biden administration did historic damage to our country's immigration and national security structures, putting our nation and unaccompanied children at risk, and turning federal agencies into middlemen for mass human trafficking operations," Moody told Fox News Digital. "As Florida's Attorney General I fought constantly in court to stop the intentional destruction of our border and trafficking of minors."Original article source: Moody rolls out bill to allow states to assist in immigration enforcement amid violent LA anti-ICE riots
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Rhoden obtains ICE partnership with Highway Patrol
SIOUX FALLS S.D. (KELO) — The South Dakota Highway Patrol will now assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with their operations, a news release from the governor's office said. Both the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and Highway Patrol applied for a U.S. Immgration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) program called 287(g), which trains and certifies certain officers with specified immigration duties, with limitations and oversight depending on the agreement's terms. Paperwork filed for 2nd South Dakota gubernatorial candidate KELOLAND's Maddie Paul broke down the program's provisions after Rhoden announced his intention to obtain immigration authority for law enforcement last week. 'This Memorandum of Agreement will allow our Highway Patrol to assist ICE in the identification and apprehension of illegal aliens who may pose a risk to public safety in South Dakota,' Rhoden said in a news release. ICE activity increased in South Dakota, after agents arrested eight people in Madison at Manitou Equipment and Global Polymer Industries in May. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Wells Police pauses ICE agreement in light of pending legislation that would ban it
Wells resident Beth Allen speaks in opposition to the Wells Police Department contract with ICE during a Select Board meeting on May 6. (By Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star) The only Maine police department that has contracted with federal authorities to assist with immigration enforcement is pausing its agreement to see if the Maine Legislature votes to ban such contracts. Wells Police Chief Jo-Ann Putnam announced Tuesday night during a Select Board meeting that her department is adopting a 'wait-and-see approach' to credentialing its officers under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's 287(g) program. 'This decision reflects the need to see how the legislation ends up playing out in Augusta,' Putnam said, referencing LD 1259, which had a public hearing on Monday. Two bills, LD 1259 and LD 1971, would prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies from carrying out the work of federal immigration authorities. LD 1259 would do so by explicitly prohibiting contracts with such authorities, while LD 1971 would place restrictions on enforcement activities absent formal agreements. Based on Putnam's brief comments at the meeting, it is unclear exactly what the pause means. Putnam could not be reached by the time of publication. In early May, she told Maine Morning Star that Wells officers had begun the training for the program, which is online. After the 287(g) program was discontinued in 2012 due to the discovery of discriminatory practices such as racial profiling, President Donald Trump revived it to bolster ICE's capacity by deputizing local police officers to detain immigrants, an authority otherwise generally reserved to federal authorities. Immigration enforcement hearing highlights lack of protocol for local, federal collaboration Putnam and Police Capt. Kevin Chabot previously told Maine Morning Star that they entered into the agreement to take advantage of a training opportunity and streamline work. On Tuesday night, Putnam said, 'I would like to reiterate one more time that at no point was there ever any intent on doing proactive immigration enforcement.' Wells remains the only local agency to have entered the program in Maine. Monmouth Winthrop Police Department, a combination of departments that serve central Maine communities, applied for the program but withdrew its application after community pushback. Community pushback in Wells is continuing in light of the pause. 'Our group, although appreciative of a pause, really is looking for Wells Police to withdraw from the contract,' Wells resident Peg Duddy told Maine Morning Star Wednesday morning. Duddy and other residents have been calling for termination of the agreement during Select Board meetings, including Tuesday night after Putnam announced the pause. The group has also been collecting signatures from Wells residents in favor of withdrawing and had more than 350 as of Wednesday morning, Duddy said. These residents have said they don't want their local force collaborating with an agency that has been accused of disregarding due process, for local police funding to go toward federal enforcement and possibly litigation, or for Wells to be known as an unwelcoming place for immigrants. However, other residents have commended local police for entering the federal partnership, showing that the matter has divided the community. The two bills heard on Monday come after Republican legislators presented a conflicting bill last month that would prevent local agencies from adopting any policies that restrict them from assisting in the enforcement of federal immigration law. None of these bills have received votes yet and there is only a month left until lawmakers are expected to conclude their work for the first year of Maine's two-year legislative session. One of the bill sponsors, Rep. Ambureen Rana (D-Bangor), told Maine Morning Star that the intention is for the Legislature to make its decisions on the issue this year. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
