By Bill Ong Hing, New America Media
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano's announcement earlier this month that the 287(g) agreement program would be expanded sent shock waves through the immigrant rights community. The program formalizes partnerships between the federal government and local law enforcement officials under which local police are authorized to enforce federal immigration laws. Immigrant groups are upset because during the Bush administration, local police, operating under the auspices of 287(g) agreements, committed heinous due process abuses and wreaked havoc in immigrant communities. The best-known example is Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Phoenix who is infamous for loving to abuse and humiliate his immigrant arrestees.
The expansion of the 287(g) program is also disappointing to many of us who served on the United Food and Commercial Workers National Commission on ICE Misconduct and Violations of 4th Amendment Rights. The commission was created in response to a raid in 2006 of six meatpacking plants in America's heartland. More than 12,000 workers, most of them U.S. citizens and legal residents, were herded together at gunpoint and denied access to phones, bathrooms, families and legal counsel. The UFCW represented workers at five of the plants in Minnesota, Colorado, Texas, Iowa, and Nebraska. In its report last month, in addition to calling for a halt to ICE raids, the commission recommended that DHS cease entering into any new 287(g) agreements until the program is fully evaluated. It also said that agreements with certain agencies that have resulted in serious complaints (such as the agreement with Arpaio) should be suspended. Instead, this month, ICE announced 11 new 287(g) agreements with law enforcement agencies from around the country.
One particular 287(g) victim that the commission interviewed stands out. High school senior Justeen Mancha, who was born in the United States, was in her bathroom getting ready for school about 7:30 a.m. Her mother already had left for the morning, driving Justeen's younger brother to elementary school along the way to work. As Justeen was brushing her hair, she heard a frightening crash at the front door of the house. It turns out it was ICE agents storming into her home, without a warrant or probable cause of any crime or immigration violation. Apparently, they only had some vague sense that Mexicans were living at this house. As she stepped out of the bathroom, Justeen faced seven armed agents with weapons drawn pointed at her, screaming, "Turn around and place your hands on the wall!" They shouted that they were searching for "Mexicans--illegals!" Justeen was shocked and traumatized. When she was able to speak, Justeen, who speaks with a heavy southern drawl belying her Georgia roots, explained that she did not know any "illegal" Mexicans. Indeed everyone in her family is a U.S. citizen. Yet, ICE agents held Justeen in her home for hours.
The commission also heard from Stephen Fotopulos, policy director with the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. He told us about a series of trailer park raids in Murray County, Tenn. Fotopulos explained that the Murray County Sheriff, under the pretext of executing a criminal warrant, conducted a series of five raids and detained more than 40 people, including U.S. citizens. "The sheriff," he testified, "entered homes in Latino communities without even reasonable suspicion that the residents were unlawfully present in the United States, and definitely not in the course of the officers' normal duties."
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano's justification for expanding 287(g), without accounting for the ugliness of previous abuse, is public safety. She stated, "This new agreement supports local efforts to protect public safety by giving law enforcement the tools to identify and remove dangerous criminal aliens." DHS claims that ICE will more closely monitor and supervise the way local police agencies implement their authority to enforce immigration laws. But civil rights organizations do not believe that those assurances are sufficient to prevent a new Arpaio from emerging. In the past, using the pretext of 287(g) agreements to look for so-called "criminal aliens," local police have harassed innocent victims in their homes and neighborhoods. In the end those officials admit they were simply looking for undocumented immigrants--even those without criminal backgrounds.
How much faith can we put in the Obama administration's new approach to the 287(g) program? Officials claim that ICE will implement a complaint mechanism so that individuals can report problems with the program. They assure us that local law enforcement will be bound by federal civil rights law and will be required to provide interpretation services for immigrants who do not speak English.
I suppose that time will tell whether the new approach works. But a real concern is whether local law enforcement officials should be enforcing federal immigration laws at all. Time and again, at UFCW commission hearings, we heard that this collaboration actually hinders local law enforcement's ability to serve and protect immigrant communities. These communities become fearful of sharing information about real crimes with local officials who are now viewed as anti-immigrant. That's not a step forward.
Bill Ong Hing is a UC Davis law professor. He sat on the UFCW Commission on ICE Misconduct and Violations of 4th Amendment Rights, where he heard firsthand about problems with the 287(g) program.
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Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano's announcement earlier this month that the 287(g) agreement program would be expanded sent shock waves through the immigrant rights community. The program formalizes partnerships between the federal government and local law enforcement officials under which local police are authorized to enforce federal immigration laws. Immigrant groups are upset because during the Bush administration, local police, operating under the auspices of 287(g) agreements, committed heinous due process abuses and wreaked havoc in immigrant communities. The best-known example is Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Phoenix who is infamous for loving to abuse and humiliate his immigrant arrestees.The expansion of the 287(g) program is also disappointing to many of us who served on the United Food and Commercial Workers National Commission on ICE Misconduct and Violations of 4th Amendment Rights. The commission was created in response to a raid in 2006 of six meatpacking plants in America's heartland. More than 12,000 workers, most of them U.S. citizens and legal residents, were herded together at gunpoint and denied access to phones, bathrooms, families and legal counsel. The UFCW represented workers at five of the plants in Minnesota, Colorado, Texas, Iowa, and Nebraska. In its report last month, in addition to calling for a halt to ICE raids, the commission recommended that DHS cease entering into any new 287(g) agreements until the program is fully evaluated. It also said that agreements with certain agencies that have resulted in serious complaints (such as the agreement with Arpaio) should be suspended. Instead, this month, ICE announced 11 new 287(g) agreements with law enforcement agencies from around the country.
One particular 287(g) victim that the commission interviewed stands out. High school senior Justeen Mancha, who was born in the United States, was in her bathroom getting ready for school about 7:30 a.m. Her mother already had left for the morning, driving Justeen's younger brother to elementary school along the way to work. As Justeen was brushing her hair, she heard a frightening crash at the front door of the house. It turns out it was ICE agents storming into her home, without a warrant or probable cause of any crime or immigration violation. Apparently, they only had some vague sense that Mexicans were living at this house. As she stepped out of the bathroom, Justeen faced seven armed agents with weapons drawn pointed at her, screaming, "Turn around and place your hands on the wall!" They shouted that they were searching for "Mexicans--illegals!" Justeen was shocked and traumatized. When she was able to speak, Justeen, who speaks with a heavy southern drawl belying her Georgia roots, explained that she did not know any "illegal" Mexicans. Indeed everyone in her family is a U.S. citizen. Yet, ICE agents held Justeen in her home for hours.
The commission also heard from Stephen Fotopulos, policy director with the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. He told us about a series of trailer park raids in Murray County, Tenn. Fotopulos explained that the Murray County Sheriff, under the pretext of executing a criminal warrant, conducted a series of five raids and detained more than 40 people, including U.S. citizens. "The sheriff," he testified, "entered homes in Latino communities without even reasonable suspicion that the residents were unlawfully present in the United States, and definitely not in the course of the officers' normal duties."
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano's justification for expanding 287(g), without accounting for the ugliness of previous abuse, is public safety. She stated, "This new agreement supports local efforts to protect public safety by giving law enforcement the tools to identify and remove dangerous criminal aliens." DHS claims that ICE will more closely monitor and supervise the way local police agencies implement their authority to enforce immigration laws. But civil rights organizations do not believe that those assurances are sufficient to prevent a new Arpaio from emerging. In the past, using the pretext of 287(g) agreements to look for so-called "criminal aliens," local police have harassed innocent victims in their homes and neighborhoods. In the end those officials admit they were simply looking for undocumented immigrants--even those without criminal backgrounds.
How much faith can we put in the Obama administration's new approach to the 287(g) program? Officials claim that ICE will implement a complaint mechanism so that individuals can report problems with the program. They assure us that local law enforcement will be bound by federal civil rights law and will be required to provide interpretation services for immigrants who do not speak English.
I suppose that time will tell whether the new approach works. But a real concern is whether local law enforcement officials should be enforcing federal immigration laws at all. Time and again, at UFCW commission hearings, we heard that this collaboration actually hinders local law enforcement's ability to serve and protect immigrant communities. These communities become fearful of sharing information about real crimes with local officials who are now viewed as anti-immigrant. That's not a step forward.
Bill Ong Hing is a UC Davis law professor. He sat on the UFCW Commission on ICE Misconduct and Violations of 4th Amendment Rights, where he heard firsthand about problems with the 287(g) program.
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The battle brewing over legalizing 20 plus illegal immigrants and their family members, is not just a political war that will have dire consequences for just American workers, but for the whole population that pays taxes? The testimonial of Robert Rector an outspoken analyst with the Heritage Foundation, that legalizing the lawbreakers will cost $2.Trillion dollars in escalating taxes, just to pay for retirement and pensions? Because of the decades of indifference of Washington, we are now stuck with a massive occupation of foreign nationals and their families. Now the lawmakers are looking for an easy way out. For all those years of businesses who have intentionally seek cheap labor, thereby dumping the whole financial burden on every US taxpayer.
Their years of lobbying less reputable members of the House and Senate, has paid off admirable. Business have lined their pockets and never paid their illegal employed labor any health care, schooling for the children or the massive welfare benefits? Upcoming is President Obama's promise to the countless numbers, who have invaded our country must not happen. These politicians have compromised our quality of life, our language and our culture. Under pressure from many open border globalist organization our politicians have murdered many immigration enforcement laws. E-Verify--a composite of the SAVE ACT was almost shelved, as they are now straining at the leash to weaken local police action 287(g), the NO MATCH LETTER and even ICE raids.
Currently we are teetering on the edge of OVERPOPULATION, with even our government acknowledging our numbers will rise to 440 million in just forty years. Our country can do without Federal mandates that includes free medial care, education, low income housing--Section 8, food stamps, just a name of few free government handouts. All these benefits should go to American families who are in need. GOOGLE--about the growing chaos in Europe from the importation of legal and illegal immigrants. GOOGLE--the disguised costs that are forced on taxpayers, not disclosed by the media or Congress. America is in survival mode now with nearly 10.5 percent jobless, home foreclosures, car repossessions, health care and more.
USE YOUR VOTING POWER TO CONTACT YOUR POLITICIANS AT 202-224-3121 Believe it! Your voices are having a crucial effect.? Support for the bi-partisan SAVE Act, which will expand E-Verify and protect American Workers! We must focus on the zenith to this major problem-the jobs that attract illegal aliens. It would phase in a requirement for every employer to use the electronic E-Verify system. We must also be aware that the Democrats are ready to open the gates to our nation, once a path to citizenship is announced. GOOGLE--the facts at NUMBERSUSA, AMERICANPATROL
Update: one of the authoritative Capitol Hill publications suggests that the Hispanic Caucus is quite pleased with the way the current House health plan will provide coverage for illegal aliens.
July 27, 2009 1:58 PM | Reply
Oh Please, Obama and Nappy have decimated this once promising program. I do agree with ICE checking all the jails for illegals but Nappy has watered down this program so bad that now only violent criminals and heavy drug offenders will be allowed. So now, the majority of illegals who commit less severe crimes such as street corner drug dealing, gang-banging, driving without a valid license or insurance, domestic abuse, sexual deviancy, drunk in public, hit and run, etc will now be mainly overlooked in the 287g program. Local police deserve the chance to stop, check and report to ICE anyone they desire. This whole racial profiling is a joke and is being used by the illegals and their advocates as an excuse, since they want no enforcement whatsoever for illegals. All police nationwide should be allowed to report any and all offenses committed by illegals to ICE for deportation. 80% of crimes by illegals are not the violent sort that Nappy is using now as criteria. She basically gave illegals an amnesty from deportation unless your a murderer or drug king pin. I hope Americans conactact your Reps and Senators and fight hard to stop this nonsense from happening. If illegals break the law, which they all do, then they should be held responsible and be penalized according to the immigration laws. Deport then when found, no matter what the crime is. NO AMNESTY - EVER AGAIN !!
July 27, 2009 4:24 PM | Reply