CHARLOTTE, NC. – The Immigration and Customs Enforcement will continue with the 62 programs of the 287g until the end of the year, which identifies undocumented criminals in local jails, on the eve of the activation of Secure Communities 2013.
"The process of identification and deportation of criminals with a history by Secure Communities, executed by several federal agents is more consistent, efficient and profitable", said a spokesmen of ICE, Vincent Picard to Efe today in a statement.
The future of the program 287g stayed up in the air, when the programs budget was reduced by 27% for the fiscal year 2013, which the Federal Agency hopes to have the Secure Communities program implemented in all of the jails in the country by the end of the year.
According to Picard, ICE recently held a review of the agreements with the law enforcement agencies that were implementing the 287g program, in which all of the agreements were automatically extended until December 31 2012.
The 287g is a federal program that allows the training of law enforcement to perform certain immigration functions to identify illegal immigrants, who enter local jails regardless of the offense they have committed.
Since the program was implemented back in 2006 in 24 states, this measure has processed and deported 304.678 foreigners, according to the figures of ICE who has trained more than 1,300 local and state government agents to enforce immigration laws.
The program has been under the close watch of organizations that are for pro-immigrant rights, and criticized for racial profiling and not serving its purpose to deport dangerous undocumented criminals, and instead are deporting those who commit lesser severe crimes such as driving without a driver's license.
In Hispanic communities such as Charlotte which is the most populated city in North Carolina, since the program started in 2006 it has processed and deported 12,000 immigrants, which only follows after Virginia that has nine of these programs in place compared to North Carolina that only has six 287g programs, and has been the target of at least two investigations by the Department of Homeland Security, the most recent one being in Alamance Country, that is located in the northern part of the state, where ICE decided more than three weeks ago to suspend the program, due to allegations of discrimination practices by the local law enforcement towards Hispanics.
Editorial@sandiegored.com
