- Jackson County Sheriff's Office confirms a new agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the 287(g) program.
- Captain Anthony Stewart says the agreement is limited to corrections officers, and will enable Sheriff's deputies to hand over detainees to ICE.
- Christine Sauvé of the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center says deputizing local police to enforce federal immigratoin law can have pernicious effects on local law enforcement and local communities.
- WATCH THE VIDEO to find out more about the extent of the program from Capt. Stewart and hear some critical observations from Sauvé.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
An alert we received from the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center this morning says the Jackson County Sheriff's Office has entered into an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to execute warrants.
I went to the Sheriff's Office to find out what that means.
"What we would be doing is serving administrative warrants for aliens that have been placed into custody and housed in our jail," says Captain Anthony Stewart.
The way ICE puts it on its website, the program — labelled 287(g) — allows "ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations to partner with state and local law enforcement agencies to identify and remove criminal aliens who are amenable to removal from the U.S."
Stewart says: "If someone, like I said, is arrested on a crime, and they also have a hold with ICE, we would serve that warrant and then contact ICE and they would have 48 hours to pick them up."
Stewart stresses the agreement involves only corrections deputies: "This is not a situation where our road deputies would be involved in making arrests on the street regarding ICE."
But Christine Sauvé, who is Policy, Engagement, and Communications Manager at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, believes the problem is the effect it has on local law enforcement:
"When local law enforcement officers are doing the work of federal immigration enforcement, community members then lose trust with their local sheriffs and their local police. And then they're less likely to come forward to report crimes."
Along with the process, Sauvé also noted concerns over the desired outcomes.
She says "there were reports from the Government Accountability Office and the DHS Office of Inspector General that found a lack of training, a lack of performance goals — there was even a lack of compliance within the terms of the agreement — and then an overall lack of effectiveness."
Stewart says training will be provided by ICE. But Sauvé says such training has been found to be limited.
So far, Jackson County Sheriff's Office is the only local law enforcement agency with such an agreement in Michigan.
Want to see more local news? Visit the FOX47News Website.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.
Select from these options: Neighborhood News, Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines, and Daily Forecasts.
