Latest news with #287(g)Program
USA Today
4 days ago
- Politics
- USA Today
More than 600 local police agencies are partnering with ICE: See if yours is one of them
More than 600 local police agencies are partnering with ICE: See if yours is one of them Following a weekend of nationwide protests and the Army's "Grand Military Parade and Celebration," President Donald Trump directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to ramp up efforts to detain and deport migrants from large Democratic-run cities including Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. Trump called for the expanded deportation June 15 post on Truth Social. Since Trump took office, the average number of people held in immigration detention centers has increased 25%, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The uptick in detentions comes against a backdrop of a divisive national debate over immigration enforcement. Trump deployed California's National Guard to Los Angeles to quell protests over immigration policies and ICE arrests. California is one of six states with laws preventing local and state agencies from partnering with ICE to enforce federal immigration laws. Under the California Values Act – the state's sanctuary law – state and local police are prohibited from investigating, detaining, or deporting its residents for purposes of immigration enforcement, according to CalMatters. The law does not prevent the federal government from deporting undocumented residents living in California, but rather limits local and state police cooperation with federal immigration officers. More than 600 state and local agencies throughout the country have signed agreements to work with ICE through the 287(g) Program. Depending on the type of agreement, local law enforcement can question inmates about their immigration status, serve warrants or work on task forces. As of early June, there are 629 agreements between local law enforcement and ICE. Agencies in Florida represent 43% of total agreements, followed by Texas with 14%. Which counties are working with ICE? Search below The ICE 287(g) agreements have three models local law enforcement can choose to participate in: Jail Enforcement Model: The model is designed to identify and process undocumented residents – with pending criminal charges – who are arrested by state or local law enforcement agencies. Task Force Model: Allows local law enforcement to enforce limited immigration authority with ICE oversight during their routine police duties. Local agents are supposed to receive 40 hours of online training to participate. Warrant Service Officer program: Allows ICE to train, certify and authorize state and local law enforcement officers to serve and execute administrative warrants on undocumented persons in the agency's jail. How long has the program been around? Local law enforcement have been participating in the 287(g) Program since 2002. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 authorizes the collaboration between federal immigration authorities and local police agencies. In its beginning years, the program focused on detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants with criminal records, CBS reported. As the program expanded, local agencies began using the partnership to detain as many undocumented immigrants as possible, according to CBS. There were no new agreements made between December 2020 and February 2025 during former President Biden's administration. A record number of state and local agencies have signed onto the program since Trump took office this year. Pushback against the program Critics say the program harms immigrant communities. ProPublica reported that the 287(g) Program has been accused of increasing racial profiling and creating fear among immigrant communities who may be reluctant to report crimes. The program has faced criticism from the federal government as well. A 2018 internal watchdog report from the Department of Homeland Security concluded that the program does not adequately train and supervise local agencies. And a 2021 report from the Government Accountability Office said ICE failed to establish performance goals for the program such as measuring oversight of local law enforcement agency partners, according to the American Immigration Council. An investigation by the Department of Justice found that local law enforcement in North Carolina and Arizona engaged in patterns of constitutional violations after entering an agreement with the 287(g) program. Immigration judges cooperating with ICE: What to know about recent arrests Map: Where anti-ICE, Trump protests have occurred around the US CONTRIBUTING Thao Nguyen, Jeanine Santucci, Pam Dankins, Joey Garrison, Davis Winkie, USA TODAY
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What are the ICE partnerships being formed with Kansas sheriffs?
WABAUNSEE COUNTY (KSNT) – A local sheriff is helping break down how Kansas deputies are assisting federal immigration officials this year. 27 News checked in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) this week to see how many law enforcement agencies in Kansas have signed up to assist the federal agency under its voluntary 287(g) Program. The program allows local and state law enforcement officials to help carry out U.S. immigration policies under the oversight of ICE. Costs associated with training law enforcement under this program are covered by ICE. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and several sheriff's offices around the state signed up to help ICE under the program earlier this year. The current list of agencies participating in the 287(g) program include the following as of June 11: Participating agencies. Cowley County Sheriff's Office – March 5, 2025. Finney County Sheriff's Office – March 17, 2020. Jackson County Sheriff's Office – July 23, 2020. KBI – Feb. 18, 2025. Reno County Sheriff's Office – March 5, 2025. Rice County Sheriff's Office – March 26, 2025. Wabaunsee County Sheriff's Office – May 28, 2025. Pending agencies. Anderson County Sheriff's Office. Ellis County Sheriff's Office. Haskell County Sheriff's Office. Student-athletes allegedly sexually harassed at Haskell Indian Nations University: Report Wabaunsee County Sheriff Eric Kirsch told 27 News that his office is participating in the program under the Warrant Service Office (WSO) model. This is the same model that all of the above sheriff's offices are participating in as well which amounts to giving local law enforcement the ability to serve and execute warrants on immigrants that are in the county jail. 'The Wabaunsee County Sheriff's Office chose to participate in the 287G at the lowest tier Warrant Service Officer (WSO) program to improve coordination with federal immigration authorities in a lawful, limited, safe, and controlled setting,' Kirsch said. Kirsch explained that his agency monitors 20 miles of 'America's Main Street' or I-70 which leads to a greater influx of people into the county jail. He said that one deputy with the sheriff's office will be qualified to serve administrative warrants issued by ICE within the jail under the WSO model. 'The WSO program provides a clear legal process that respects due process while helping remove criminal offenders who pose a threat to the community,' Kirsch said. Six-year-old girl dies after apparent drowning incident at Milford State Park Deputies with the Wabaunsee County Sheriff's Office will not be able to question people about their immigration status, conduct investigations or initiate deportations under the partnership. Kirsch said the role of his agency under the WSO model amounts mostly to filing paperwork and is limited in scope. 'The WSO program does not change how we serve the community or how we handle routine law enforcement matters or services to Wabaunsee County Kansas,' Kirsch said. 'We will simply have a designated staff member who will have the authority to serve ICE administrative warrants inside our jail. This helps streamline the custody transfer process for individuals identified by ICE, without any cost to the taxpayers, nor ever involving deputies in immigration enforcement outside the facility.' Kirsch said the WSO model does not invite immigration enforcement into the community. Its purpose is instead focused on forming a clear line of communication with federal officials. 'I will not allow Federal Authorities to have control over or dictate our policies or facility/community,' Kirsch said. 'The WSO program is not nor ever shall be about broad immigration enforcement. Due to our geographic location in proximity to I-70 and the many arrests made by multiple agencies on I-70, we're in a position where we have an increased likelihood of this program being used and our operational philosophy is to be in a constant state of readiness, safe, pro-active, accountable, and responsible in nature.' The Wabaunsee County Sheriff's Office can sever ties with the WSO model at any time if it chooses to do so. You can learn more about the 287(g) Program by clicking here. Topeka strip club owner indicted for machine gun possession For more crime news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Number of local police joining ICE is surging
Overall, ICE initiated 514 new agreements with local law enforcement agencies across 40 states since January. Among the new partners are highway patrol troopers in Tennessee and officers with about 20 Florida agencies, who in recent weeks assisted ICE with the arrest of more than 1,300 people. 'It has been wonderful to see people jump in and be a part of it to make sure that we have not just the authorities that we need to go out there and to work, but also to have the local knowledge and the people in the community that really want to be a part of the solution,' Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. Advertisement ICE officials tout the expansion of the 287(g) Program — named for the section of law that allows the delegation of limited powers to local officers — as a 'force multiplier' to accelerate deportations and counter sanctuary policies that limit local cooperation with immigration agents. Advertisement But civil liberties experts and immigrant advocates warn such agreements come at a high cost to communities. Bringing on local partners at such a fast pace compounds the concerns, voiced by ICE's 'Local law enforcement in these jurisdictions have more authority to enforce immigration laws, but they don't necessarily know just by looking at someone walking down the street or pulling someone over whether they're an immigrant or not,' said Austin Kocher, a professor at Syracuse University who has tracked the 287(g) Program for 15 years. 'There are a lot of people in this country who are going to be affected by this expanded police power, maybe even who aren't immigrants, but who might get caught up in the system just because police think they're an immigrant or because they're conducting enforcement operations in places that affect U.S. citizens.' As of June 6, local and state police departments had signed 649 agreements to participate in the program, compared to the 135 agreements that were in place in January, according to ICE. An additional 79 applications were pending. A local police or sheriff's department may have multiple agreements with ICE. Over several days last month, the Tennessee Highway Patrol sent a surge of cruisers along the streets of south Nashville, pulling over drivers as ICE agents in unmarked vehicles with flashing lights waited next to them. They quickly drew the attention of passersby and activists who recorded video of the arrests. Advertisement Local leaders and immigrant advocates alleged the operation violated the civil rights of Nashville residents, noting it focused on areas where Latino immigrants live and involved far more traffic stops in a few hours than officers would typically do in an entire day. A majority of the 196 people arrested did not have prior criminal records, according to information released by ICE. The agency said 95 had criminal convictions or pending charges. Thirty-one had committed a felony by reentering the country illegally after being previously deported. 'What's clear today is that people who do not share our values of safety and community have the authority to cause deep community harm,' Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell said. O'Connell pressed ICE to release the names of everyone who had been arrested, prompting House Republicans to launch two congressional investigations into the mayor for allegedly creating a chilling effect on ICE's work in the city. Lisa Sherman Luna, executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, said the action traumatized immigrant families. 'This operation — which was focused on a neighborhood with an established, vibrant immigrant population — reeks of racial profiling and unconstitutional discrimination,' said Sherman Luna, who fled Guatemala to the U.S. with her family following the kidnapping of her sister. Nashville and Davidson County governments, along with community nonprofits, But federal officials defended the operation and lambasted critics. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a news release, 'You would think all public officials would unite around DHS bringing violent criminal illegal aliens to justice and removing them from American communities. However, pro-open borders politicians — like Mayor O'Connell — would rather protect illegal aliens than American citizens.' DHS had included Nashville in a now-deleted list titled Advertisement It's unclear how many immigration-related arrests can be attributed to the 287(g) Program since Trump took office. ICE officials did not respond to Arizona Luminaria and ProPublica's request for those numbers. The agency issues monthly reports that selectively highlight arrests for violent crimes but don't provide arrest totals involving local police partners. Politics and power are driving the 287(g) Program's rapid expansion, according to Kocher. Republican-led states, including Florida, are passing laws requiring local police to sign on to the program. In conservative counties, it's popular to aid Trump's mass deportation effort. As a result, a large portion of new agencies signing 287(g) agreements are sheriff's offices, which run county jails. 'Sheriff's offices are elected,' Kocher said. 'Many of them are more than happy to do this, right? But regardless, it's also a public visibility electoral thing.' The expansion is not, however, driven by money. In fact, many expenses associated with the federal partnership, such as officer salaries, overtime and transportation, are covered by local agencies and taxpayers, per the agreements. Local departments can participate in three ways. The jail enforcement and warrant service officer models limit local agencies' immigration powers to people already being held in local jails and state prisons for other charges. The task force model extends that authority to community policing. The Obama administration Advertisement The Trump administration's decision to resurrect them has drawn sharp criticism. Immigration advocates say it erodes communities' trust in police, violates constitutional rights and shifts the focus of enforcement from immigrants charged with violent crimes to those who've committed minor offenses. They also note it comes as the Trump administration has None of the agreements allow local officers to act on their own. They must be supervised or directed by ICE. Local officers are also supposed to receive 40 hours of online training to participate in task force agreements. However, a 2021 Participation in the 287(g) Program is strongest in the Southeast, where entire states like Florida are mandating full cooperation with ICE. There were 277 agreements in Florida alone as of June 6, according to ICE's online database. But as quickly as it has taken hold in the Southeast, the expansion has so far missed the country's biggest cities and counties, home to large immigrant populations. Doris Marie Provine, an emeritus professor at Arizona State University and lead author of 'Policing Immigrants: Local Law Enforcement on the Front Lines,' attributed big cities' reluctance, in part, to concerns about the costs to police departments and taxpayers. 'From local law enforcement's perspective, it's an unfunded mandate,' Provine said. 'There has been much more interest in community policing than there was 20 years ago, and that is very directly in conflict with turning local police into immigration officers.' Advertisement Since the 287(g) Program first ramped up nearly 20 years ago, it has faced repeated accusations of racial profiling and of creating a chilling effect among immigrant communities, who may be reluctant to report crimes. Two Justice Department investigations alleged that enforcement under 287(g) agreements led to constitutional violations in North Carolina and Arizona. ICE subsequently pulled their agreements. In North Carolina's Alamance County, the DOJ found in 2012, six years after the sheriff signed a 287(g) agreement, that the sheriff's office engaged 'in a pattern or practice of discriminatory policing against Latinos.' A federal judge In 2013, a federal judge in Arizona reaffirmed the DOJ's findings and Trump pardoned Arpaio in 2017 of federal contempt charges for disregarding the judge's ruling. New Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan has declined to pursue new 287(g) agreements, citing the court's ongoing scrutiny of the department to ensure officers comply with the 2013 ruling. The cost to taxpayers for the ongoing effort to root out racial profiling in the department had surpassed $300 million as of March. Sheridan said he values the 287(g) Program but agreed with the judge's finding that community enforcement under the county's agreement was 'racially biased.' ICE did not respond to a request for comment about its monitoring of local agencies for potential civil rights violations. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said: 'ICE's 287(g) Program is playing a critical role in fulfilling President Trump's promise to deport criminal illegal aliens and keep America safe. Dangerous criminal illegals with lengthy criminal records who pose a risk to the American people are detained all the time thanks to partnerships with local law enforcement officers.' In an In highlighting ICE's push for greater collaboration with local law enforcement, Homan rebuffed a common criticism of the 287(g) Program — that allowing police to enforce immigration laws erodes trust between communities and local officers. 'I'm sick and tired of hearing the talking point, 'Well, we're a welcoming community, we're a sanctuary city because we want victims and witnesses of a crime that live in the immigrant community to feel safe coming to law enforcement to report that crime,'' Homan told Arizona lawmakers. 'That is a bunch of garbage. A victim and witness of crime don't want the bad guy back out there either.' ICE is seeking more funding to expand 287(g) agreements and its detention and deportation capacity. During an 'We would much rather partner with a sheriff's department or a state corrections agency, someone that's in a state where an individual is arrested that we don't have to transport all around the country due to lack of bed space,' Lyons said.
Miami Herald
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
UF campus police's role in purging our international community sends a perverse message
ICE and UF The Officers and Board of Directors of the Retired Faculty of the University of Florida (RFUF) are distressed and disgusted regarding state, local and UF's collusion with the outrageous if not unconstitutional visa revocations of international students, faculty and staff at universities across the country, the Florida State University System and the University of Florida specifically. Particularly distressing is the covert and startling way this action has occurred. UF police have essentially been deputized under the federal ICE 287(g) Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) as 'force multipliers' to detain individuals without warrants solely on suspicion of immigration violations. Affected students, faculty and staff have reportedly received little to no formal notice, rationale, or recourse, leaving them confused and in abject terror and uncertainty about their academic futures, legal status and personal well-being. Allowing the ICE 287(g) MOA to go forward sends an unconscionably perverse message to the university community. Perhaps it may irreversibly erode the trust expected of the UF Police Department while unnecessarily diverting officers from their primary mission: campus safety. Even U.S. citizens run the risk of detention if campus police, using cultural profiling as instructed by ICE, take action. Fear of detention could easily prevent a student from seeking medical attention, mental health treatment, or even educational support services. Most disturbing is ICE's authority to access international student data in search of even the smallest infraction to be loosely interpreted as criminal for shameless justification of deportation. We ask UF Interim President Kent Fuchs to devote the substantial time remaining in his tenure to combat the metastatic symptoms of authoritarian intrusion into the university's internal operations. He must immediately condemn and withdraw from the ICE 287(g) Program. The UF Police Department's published guiding principles are completely inconsistent with and anathema to any activity under an ICE 287(g) MOA. States such as Vermont, Rhode Island, Delaware and New Mexico have no such MOAs. Furthermore, Connecticut, New Jersey, Illinois, Washington, Oregon and California have enacted legislation prohibiting such MOAs with ICE. Fuchs must make public the scope and consequences of UF's visa crisis, including the number of affected students, faculty and staff and the rationales provided for visa revocation. He also must contact all those who have already suffered or are at risk of visa revocation to make certain they clearly understand due process protections and are provided legal or administrative counsel, if necessary. For those who have been compelled to leave the United States, make certain that UF continues to support remote participation in their education or professional role, assuming they joined UF with a valid visa. Surely, ICE and other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies have sufficient authority and bandwidth to operate independently without conscripting campus police officers. That a UF agency has been authorized to comply in ICE's misguided and indiscriminate attempt to purge our international community is reprehensible. We greatly respect and appreciate UF's leadership in achieving national preeminence in education, research and public service, which is precisely why we are appealing to Fuchs to maintain the highest ethical standards and independence and why we stand ready to assist him in this urgently needed action. Our international community of students, faculty and staff deserve nothing less. Richard D'Alli (Medicine), immediate past president 2024-2025, Steve Lodle (Communications), chair, RFUF Communications Committee, Gainesville FWC unqualified Re: the May 22 story, 'Two more FWC officers' body cam footage from Pino boat crash deleted, agency says.' Now it's four deleted videos. How unprofessional and unbelievable. Until the investigation is completed, it's still a death investigation. Any professional death investigator knows that nothing is deleted until the state attorney and the medical examiner reach their conclusions. Even then, it should be kept until all civil avenues have been settled. This is pure evidence that FWC has no reason to investigate these matters. As soon as a death occurs, it should be turned over to the Miami-Dade Sheriff's office, which has exceptionally trained investigators with a wealth of experience. Let FWC enforce boating violations, not death investigations. Robert Lynch, Fort Lauderdale Who is a martyr? Re: Mary Anna Mancuso's May 23 op-ed, 'J6 rioter Ashli Babbitt isn't a martyr.' Make no mistake, Babbitt was murdered. She was unarmed and helpless at the time she was shot. The op-ed struck me as quite hypocritical, as I saw no such article in this newspaper proclaiming George Floyd wasn't a martyr and his family, who got much more than Babbitt's family, shouldn't have received compensation. I'm not trying to condone the actions of Derek Chauvin, the police officer who was convicted of killing Floyd, but Floyd was treated as a martyr; there even are statues of him in Minneapolis. Dave Schaublin, Key Largo Spot-on op-ed Thank you, thank you, thank you! Cannot heap enough praise on the integrity of Mary Anna Mancuso's May 23 op-ed, 'J6 rioter Ashli Babbitt isn't a martyr,' while recognizing the courage it takes for a news editor to do the right thing and say it as it is. Society simply cannot continue to accept the glorification of crime. Mancuso has single-handedly helped elevate the faith of many who look to intrepid journalists for transparency and truth. Phillip M. Church, South Miami Campus protests The attack on Harvard University and foreign students in the name of fighting antisemitism is ludicrous. Are we to believe that the many students protesting under the banner 'Not in My Name' and the very president of Harvard are antisemitic? When did anti-war and antisemitic become synonyms? Sonja I. Pantry, Miramar Disaster ahead We are in the middle of a climate change policy revision nightmare. Funding has been cut to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. Meanwhile, Congress is considering startling reversals of regulations and tax credits designed to reduce the impact of fossil fuels on our environment. As if this were not enough, there are efforts to weaken the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which aids communities when disasters hit. We are weakening the nation's forecasting and assistance capabilities, as we also weaken the regulations which fight climate change. This is no time to be silent. Contact Sens. Rick Scott and Ashley Moody. Call your congressman or woman. Get involved in climate organizations, such as Citizens Climate Lobby. Our lives may depend upon it. Kathryn Carroll, Miami DeSantis knows best? While signing a bill earlier this month that stops local governments from adding fluoride to water, Gov. Ron DeSantis said, 'some of these people, they think that they know better for you than you do for yourself.' How can public heath be solely an individual choice? Isn't the public's health serving the greater good? DeSantis and his cronies in the legislature have been finding ways to tell Floridians what we can and cannot do. Books are banned. Universities are no longer places for open ideas and learning. A woman can no longer make decisions about her own body. We no longer can acknowledge and celebrate our diversity as we please. Many among us live in fear of deportation. Our government is seemingly promoting and imposing its own vision of what it thinks is right for Floridians. We are free only if we toe the line the state has laid. A lot of us think differently. Hopefully, the next elections will show how fed up we are. Marsha Broad, Miami Pushy salesman Why is it that, when I listen to President Donald Trump speak on the economy, it's like he's trying to sell a big, beautiful timeshare to me and the American electorate? Jesus Mendez, Coral Gables
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Advocates urge Maine lawmakers to bar police cooperation with ICE
May 19—Immigrants rights advocates urged Maine lawmakers Monday to restrict the ability of police departments to work with federal immigration authorities. One proposal before the Legislature would prohibit agencies or officers from entering into contracts to partner with federal immigration authorities. A second would prohibit police from stopping, arresting or detaining a person solely for immigration enforcement reasons. The proposals come as the Department of Homeland Security is working to expand the number of partnership contracts with local law enforcement agencies nationwide in order to carry out the mass deportations President Donald Trump promised throughout his campaign. Wells is currently the only municipality in Maine participating in the 287(g) Program, according to an ICE database, and the southern Maine town has faced pushback for agreeing to help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Lawmakers on Monday held a public hearing on LD 1259, from Rep. Ambureen Rana, D-Bangor, which would prevent state and local agencies from entering into 287(g) Program agreements like the one Wells has. "I am very concerned by the recent push to encourage local law enforcement agencies to enter into 287(g) with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)," Pamela Proulx-Curry, executive director of the Maine MultiCultural Center in Brewer, said in written testimony supporting LD 1259. "Such agreements make our communities more unsafe, not less." Six states — California, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington — have laws or policies that prohibit such agreements, according to ICE. On the other hand, a number of states, such as Georgia and Florida, have passed or are considering legislation requiring law enforcement to seek out or enter into partnerships with ICE under the 287(g) program. Proulx-Curry said the program turns routine encounters with police into opportunities for deportation, creating fear among immigrants and making them less likely to contact police if they witness or are a victim of a crime. "When people don't trust police, they're less likely to report domestic violence, fraud or unsafe working conditions — issues that affect everyone in a community, not just immigrants," she wrote. The Greater Bangor Area Branch NAACP also submitted testimony in support of the bill, testifying that if state and local law enforcement coordinate with immigration authorities it would have a "chilling effect" on immigrant communities and could drain local resources. "As has been documented nationally and within Maine, ICE and (Customs and Border Protection) have been especially targeting communities of color in their actions," wrote branch President Athena Bryce. "This is a civil rights concern for all the people in Maine." The Maine County Commissioners Association, which represents county governments across the state, submitted testimony opposing the bill, saying public safety is a local issue and that local governments should have the flexibility to enter into agreements and partnerships they believe are best for their communities. The bill could also jeopardize federal funds that county jails receive for detaining individuals who are believed to have violated federal law, including immigration laws, according to written testimony from the commission. "If a local law enforcement agency is asked to engage in behavior that is not consistent with the law, whether related to immigration or some other activity, those local agencies already have in place the tools and responsibility to refuse such requests," wrote Stephen Gordon and Jean-Marie Caterina, co-chairs of the association's Legislative Policy Committee. "A blanket state law forbidding cooperation would be unwise, and unwarranted." Rana said the agreements are not needed for local law enforcement to be able to do their jobs or for immigration officials to do their jobs in Maine. She also said the agreements are detrimental to taxpayers. "The bottom line is, a 287(g) agreement requires that we are using our local taxpayer money to do the job of federal immigration enforcement," she said. "Our resources are already limited, both at the state level and at municipalities ... and we should be using our local taxpayer money to care for our residents." Michael Kebede, policy director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, cited several examples of communities from other states that have had to raise property taxes or draw from rainy day funds to implement multi-million dollar 287(g) programs, in testimony Monday. But Ken Mason, sheriff of Kennebec County and chair of the Maine Sheriffs Association Legislative Policy Committee, said members of the sheriffs association are in unanimous opposition to LD 1259. "As sheriffs, we cannot and should not be forced to pick and choose which state and federal laws to enforce," Mason said. Asked about the financial impact, Mason said his agency and others around the state participate in a federal grant program called Operation Stonegarden that is focused on border security and that has been financially beneficial, helping them buy equipment and pay for additional work. He said he couldn't say for sure if that program would be affected by LD 1259. "It's not specific to immigration," he said. "It's just 'Do your regular thing.'" A second bill, LD 1971, from Rep. Deqa Dhalac, D-South Portland, would prohibit law enforcement from stopping, arresting or detaining a person solely for immigration enforcement reasons. It would also require inmates to be informed of their rights prior to being interviewed by immigration authorities, and it would prohibit law enforcement from determining an inmate's custody status based on their immigration status. "(This bill) ensures that local and state law enforcement agencies can focus on their primary mission, which is safeguarding our communities and upholding state law," Dhalac said. Rana said she sees the two bills as complementary. "I do believe the bills work hand-in-hand," she said. "They don't compete. I do believe they address different issues and need to be implemented hand-in-hand to offer the most protections in our state." Copy the Story Link
