Green Party of Texas Advocates the Termination of the Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) 287(g) Program
- The 287g agreement promotes factors of institutional and systematic racism by the means of encouraging racial profiling by deputized officials to any person that they suspect is undocumented
- ICE has stated that the goal of the 287(g) program is to remove undocumented persons “who are involved in violent and serious crimes.” However, studies show that over 50% of all noncitizens identified via the 287(g) program were arrested for simple traffic violations or low-level misdemeanors.
[1]https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/reports/2018/10/09/459098/rapidly-expanding-287g-program-suffers-lack-transparency/[1] https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2018-09/OIG-18-77-Sep18.pdf[1] https://leitf.org/2017/09/local-law-enforcement-role-in-immigration-enforcement-%C2%A7-287g-agreements/[1] https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/delegation-and-divergence-287g-state-and-local-immigration-enforcement
- 287(g) leads to the breakdown of trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities. It hinders cooperation between local police and immigrant residents, and it risks the safety of undocumented residents of Texas, making the more vulnerable to becoming targets and victims of a crime.
- 287(g) is costly for counties and taxpayers, and is a misallocation of resources. Under 287(g), ICE only covers the cost of training deputized officers, leaving local governments to front most of the costs, including travel, salaries, overtime, and costs of detention. Among the several counties that have terminated their 287(g) agreements: Orange County, El Paso County, and Harris County cited costs and the need to prioritize law enforcement in other areas as their primary motivations. Other 287(g) participants have spent millions on the program; countless other law enforcement entities have opted to avoid this by never adopting 287(g) to begin with.
[1] https://www.governing.com/topics/public-justice-safety/gov-undocumented-immigrants-crime-pew.html
[1] https://www.policylink.org/sites/default/files/INSECURE_COMMUNITIES_REPORT_FINAL.PDF
[1] U.S. Census Bureau, 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates; See also https://www.migrationpolicy.org/data/unauthorized-immigrant-population/county/48439
[1] https://www.acluofnorthcarolina.org/en/news/north-carolina-sheriff-known-racial-profiling-partners-ice [1] http://www.law.unc.edu/documents/clinicalprograms/thecostoficespoliciesandpractices.pdf [1]https://www.opportunityagenda.org/explore/resources-publications/immigration-policy-solutions-due-process-and-fair-treatment-under
[1] https://www.themarshallproject.org/2019/05/13/is-there-a-connection-between-undocumented-immigrants-and-crime [1] http://www.ncsl.org/research/immigration/state-criminal-alien-assistance-program.aspx
- 287(g) leads to an increase in family separation and irreversible damage to immigrant individuals, families and communities. The constant fear of deportation can cause stress and inflict an enormous emotional toll on the undocumented, and separation can drastically destabilize immigrant families. The detention of a family member can result in a family losing most, if not all of their income, as well as negatively impact the social, emotional, educational, and overall well-being of the family.
- Persons detained in jails and detention centers who have been processed through the 287(g) are exposed to the coronavirus due to preventive conditions not practiced in adherence to the national Communicable Disease Control (CDC) guidelines. Incarcerated persons are unable to adhere to “social distancing”, and are potentially exposed daily to persons who may have the disease but are not exhibiting symptoms. These exposures affect not only those who are incarcerated and the employees of the facilities, but all persons who live in the community, which results in unnecessary deaths to all persons in the community. The virus does not discriminate.
- 287(g) exposes counties to legal liability for the prolonged detention of individuals
Given these multiple hazards to all persons in our communities, the Green Party of Texas advocates the immediate termination of the ICE 287(g) program and the release of all persons who have not committed violent offenses.