Tearing Down State and Local Immigration Enforcement
The Obama Administration announced plans to revise the Memorandums of Agreement (MOAs) that are negotiated under section 287(g) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA). The section 287(g) program is designed to allow state and local law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration laws. For participating cities and states, this program is a critical tool for enforcing America’s immigration laws, because it has become a force multiplier for the under-resourced Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The MOA changes, however, undercut the motivation of jurisdictions to participate in the program by forcing prosecutors and law enforcement to prosecute illegal immigrants for the underlying crime instead of simply processing them for removal. Furthermore, they limit the ability of law enforcement officers to check immigration status to that of only minor offenses. Essentially, without saying so, they gut the force-multiplier purpose of 287(g). These changes are driven entirely by political special interests and are not representative of the positive contribution section 287(g) makes toward enforcing immigration laws. The Obama Administration should not move forward with these changes, and it should instead promote the expansion of section 287(g) and similar programs.
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- Published:
- July 16, 2009 / 5:08 pm
- Category:
- News
- Tags:
- Immigration Services USCIS, immigration Services, Obama, immigration reform, Naturalization, immigration, immigration policy, Obama Administration, Janet Napolitano, immigrant, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, J.David Peña & Associates, miami, lawyers in miami, immigration Services miami, Tearing Down State and Local Immigration Enforcement, Memorandums of Agreement, Immigration and Naturalization Act, 287(g), section 287(g), miami lawyers, miami immigration


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