Enforcement works and 287 (g) is alive and functioning well, including in Maricopa County Arizona …and Georgia
D.A. King
October 8, 2009

While the outrage and concern over the changes in the 287 (g) agreement between Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio and the DHS is certainly understandable, it seems that reports of 287 g’s demise in Maricopa County – and the nation – are premature.

It is true that many interested parties are trying to kill 287 (g) – you can see a recent letter to the president HERE – but it is not as bad as it may seem. Pro-enforcement Americans should all calm down a little.

Arpaio has not lost his ability to use the 287(g) section of the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act.

What has happened is that in addition to altering and standardizing all 287 (g) agreements with local law enforcement, DHS has eliminated Arpaio’s authorization to use 287 (g) trained deputies on the street.

The Maricopa sheriff’s office can continue use of the valuable federal 287 (g) authority and database to screen non-citizens for immigration status who are charged with local crimes and are brought into his jail.

This is important to understand.

According to a recent New York Times report Arpaio says:

“the vast majority of the 33,000 arrests of illegal immigrants his office has made in the past two years under the agreement followed a check on the immigration status of people in jails. About 300 have been arrested in the field during “crime suppression” operations…”

This is the case with the huge majority of local law enforcement agencies using 287 (g) authority.

In most cases, having been incarcerated, the illegal’s fingerprints are now on file with law enforcement. Even if the local charges do not result in deportation, having become known to law enforcement and fingerprinted serves as a very strong deterrent for the illegals to remain in the community using 287 (g).

And the deterrent factor extends to illegals who have not yet been apprehended. Recognizing the mere possibility of arrest, illegal aliens are migrating out of communities using 287 (g) nation wide.

Reports of 287 g being gutted or rendered nearly useless are inaccurate and un productive. They will also inadvertently serve to assist the anti-enforcement lobby in discouraging additional local law enforcement agencies from applying for the badly needed and efficient 287 g tool.

As a hard and fast rule of thumb on immigration law enforcement, to understand what works, one has only to listen to the howls from the anti-enforcement crazies.

We can all feel better about 287 (g) in general and Arpaio’s ability to continue to use 287 g in particular by reading the October 6th press release from the outraged ACLU “ICE Should Terminate Maricopa County 287(g) Agreement Scaling Back Sheriff Arpaio’s Immigration Enforcement Authority Does Not Go Far Enough, Says ACLU.”

287 (g) is proving to be as efficient and productive as the immigration law enforcement force multiplier it was designed to be.

Here in Georgia, there are now four sheriffs with 287 (g) authority. The results are predictable and very visible in that all the right enemies are endlessly working to eliminate existing use. And to stop more sheriffs from gaining access to the federal power to use the database which reports immigration status of non citizens arrested for crimes in addition to illegal immigration.

Most recently, Metro Atlanta’s Gwinnett County has signed an MOA with ICE and will send 18 deputies to be federally trained to use 287 (g) in the county jail next week.

Brilliantly illustrating the effectiveness of 287 (g), the ACLU has founded and supports the ‘Georgia Detention Watch’ here in the Peach State. Their stated objective:

“We are dedicated to stopping the proliferation of 287(g) Agreements between localities and federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials as well as other attempts at local enforcement of immigration laws in Georgia…”

Interested readers should read the ACLU ‘how to’ publication on opposing 287 (g) titled “Local Police and Immigration Laws Workshop” to see the universal mindless talking points from the anti-enforcement mob.

Their objections rest mainly on two points. One that 287 (g) somehow results in “racial profiling.” They are ever hopeful that the general public will not realize that all non citizens are screened for immigration status after having been charged with local crimes.

The other is that local enforcement of American immigration laws somehow “makes the community less safe.”

In preparation for Gwinnett’s application for 287 (g) authority, earlier this year, and in partnership with Gwinnett County Sheriff Butch Conway, ICE conducted a 26 day trial run on screening inmates in the county jail. The results were startling even for the most seasoned and experienced authorities on 287 (g).

In the 26 day period, more than 900 illegal aliens were discovered in Gwinnett’s jail. More than half had prior criminal records.

Thirteen illegals had been charged with murder. Eleven with kidnapping, fifteen with rape and twenty- three with child molestation. The complete list of charges can be read here from the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Most Americans will take a dim view of the demented opinion that use of 287 (g) and deporting illegal aliens is somehow making Gwinnett County, Georgia – or America – “less safe.”

While 287 (g) is saving American lives and jobs, what we are proving nationwide is quite simple: Enforcement works.

D.A. King is president of the Georgia-based Dustin Inman Society, a non partisan, multi-ethnic coalition actively dedicated to enforcement of American immigration and employment laws. On the Web: www.TheDustinInmanSociety.org