Report Finds Use of Local Authorities for Immigration Enforcement Not Working

A controversial U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency program that deputizes local authorities to act as federal immigration officials is not working, according to a new Office of Inspector General (IG) report.

The report states: “With no specific target levels for arrest, detention, and removal priority levels, and with performance measures that do not account for all investigative work and criminal prosecutions, ICE cannot be assured that the 287(g) program is meeting its intended purpose, or that resources are being appropriately targeted toward aliens who pose the greatest risk to public safety and the community.”

Citing the report’s findings, civil rights groups have renewed calls for ICE to abandon the program.  Civil rights groups, including The Leadership Conference, have called the program an inappropriate abdication of federal authority and have expressed concern about the lack of mechanisms in the program to prevent or monitor racial profiling and other civil rights violations.

The IG report makes 33 recommendations intended to make the program more effective.  ICE has accepted all but one recommendation, which would require local authorities to collect data that would allow the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to identify places where racial profiling may be occurring.

“ICE’s response to this particular recommendation is revealing. They insist that racial profiling is not occurring, but they then refuse to track the data that would give evidence to their claim,” said Jumana Musa, policy director for the Rights Working Group.

Civil rights groups say that the report shows that Congress must enact a comprehensive immigration reform bill that will fix our nation’s broken system. 

“It is time to stop diverting resources away from criminal law enforcement to a flawed strategy predicated on the fantasy that we can deport our way to a solution to our broken immigration system,” said Clarissa Martínez De Castro, the National Council of La Raza’s director of immigration and national campaigns. “It is time for Congress, DHS, and the president to deliver real solutions. The answer is comprehensive immigration reform.”