On December 15, Representative Luis Gutierrez of Illinois introduced his version of Comprehensive Immigration Reform to the House of Representatives. Amongst its many provisions, the bill would eliminate the successful 287(g) immigration enforcement program in which local law enforcement are trained and deputized by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to carry out federal immigration law.
Yet, Gutierrez’s bill is not the only blow made against 287(g) this year. Following an early 2009 GAO report that resulted in claims of racial profiling and a lack oversight and direction within 287(g), the Obama administration announced changes to the Memorandums of Agreement (MOAs) that are signed by participating agencies. Law enforcement must now pursue the criminal charges for which an illegal alien is arrested rather than simply initiating removal, and are to limit immigration status checks to only those arrested for “major” offenses. These changes were a strike against the very heart of the program.
In the past seven years, more than 120,000 illegal immigrants have been identified within the US by the 66 state and local law enforcement agencies that have signed Memorandums of Agreement (MOAs) to participate in 287(g). This program has helped to remove dangerous criminal aliens from the US. For example, one participating agency, the Davidson County Sherriff’s Office, has cited 287(g) in leading to the arrest of 90 gang leaders within their jurisdiction.
Before 287(g), when a suspected illegal immigrant was identified by local law enforcement, all that could be done was notify ICE and wait. In many cases, this meant that illegal immigrants went free because ICE simply did not have the manpower to retrieve all such individuals. 287(g) has offered a crucial force multiplier, adding roughly 1,000 deputized state and local law enforcement officers to the mix of those able to enforce federal immigration law.
287(g) offers a key tool in fighting crime and removing illegal immigrants from the United States. Recent legislation and executive action should not be allowed to bring an end to such a vital immigration enforcement program.
As widely noted, President Barack Obama has comprehensive immigration reform on his 2010 legislative agenda. Given the policy changes made during his first nine months, it is clear that President Obama sees reform through the prism of perceived Hispanic votes and union payback.
First, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano changed the worksite raid policy of deporting illegal immigrants caught during raids to giving those illegals temporary work permits to cooperate with DHS. Beyond the legal weakness in buying cooperation, does anyone really believe that the illegals released with work permits will hang around and face deportation once the case is resolved? The history of the “catch and release” program — ended by President George W. Bush in 2005 — unequivocally demonstrates that illegals will move to another city or state and resume their illegal activities. By effectively ending the “detention and removal” policy, Secretary Napolitano has only put back in place one of the incentives illegals had in coming to America; namely, an all bark and no bite enforcement regime.
Next, Secretary Napolitano added onerous new requirements to the Section 287(g) program that is used by state and local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration law. The new requirements place unnecessary handcuffs on state and local law enforcement and make the attractiveness of the Section 287(g) program far less so. Instead of having the guts to kill the program outright, the Obama Administration will kill it by removing the utility of it for state and local law enforcement. By removing another disincentive to illegal coming to America, the Obama Administration is sending a strong message to those contemplating coming here illegally that once they get across the border, they are a free as a bird.
Then, in its discussion with interested groups on immigration, the Obama Administration held a one-sided conversation with only groups who support granting amnesty to the 12 million illegals currently in America. Despite being one of the nation’s top thought leaders on the issue of immigration, no one from Heritage or any of the other groups who oppose amnesty received invites to the White House gathering. So much for bipartisanship and Obama’s alleged interest in hearing from both sides of the debate.
Finally, we now learn that the pro-illegal immigrant Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis, is making it even harder for agricultural employers to use existing legal visa programs to hire workers. Secretary Solis wants to require higher pay and add additional steps for employers to show that they could not find Americans for the jobs. While we agree that American jobs should first go to Americans and those already here legally, the current policy that required employers to attest that they had searched for qualified Americans hasn’t been shown to be ineffective. Unions, not surprisingly, support these changes. Instead of reducing the avenue for legal migration, the Obama Administration should be expanding the legal avenues for those who want to come to America to work.
All of these policy changes clearly signal that immigration reform under the Obama Administration means amnesty, fewer visa users, and a return to a set of incentives that encourage those thinking of coming to America illegally to cross the border or overstay their visa. This means we will be debating whether to give the next 12 million illegals amnesty in twenty years just as we are twenty years after the 1986 amnesty. For real reform, see out report “Controlling Illegal Immigration: State and Local Government Must Do More.”