PETITION CLOSED

  • The time period for signing this petition has ended.
End 287 (g) Program Turning Local Police Into Immigration Enforcement
  1. Signatures
    124 out of 200
    Petitioning
    1. The President of the United States (+ 2 others)
      Petitioning
      close
      • The President of the United States
      • Secretary of Homeland Security (Janet Napolitano)
      • Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (John Morton)
  2. Created By
    Gabriela Garcia
    Miami, FL
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

Section 287 (g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act is the program that has opened up the door for bills like Arizona’s “Paper’s Please” SB 1070, and the patchwork of similar bills being proposed in states all over the country. It authorizes Immigration and Customs Enforcement to engage certain state and local law enforcement agencies in federal immigration enforcement activities.

The evidence that this program is a failure is overwhelming. The Department of Homeland Security’s own Office of the Inspector General has issued a report that tracks the failure of ICE to oversee the program, properly review the agencies that wish to participate, effectively train law enforcement, address civil rights concerns, and provide precise data to Congress and the public.

Recently, another report highlights the fact that ICE cannot track expenditures and ensure that money allocated for 287 (g) is being spent in the manner Congress intended.

Furthermore, 287 (g) agreements have proven to be ineffective in addressing the priority of ICE to deport noncitizens who pose a safety threat, and have opened the door towards civil rights violations and general mistrust of law enforcement in immigrant communities.

Tell President Obama and the Department of Homeland Security that there is no justification for continuing this failed program.

Photo Courtesy of ICE 

Recent Signatures

End 287 (g) Program

Greetings,

I am calling on Immigration and Customs Enforcement to cease 287 (g) agreements with state and local law enforcement.

The evidence that this program is a failure is overwhelming. The Department of Homeland Security’s own Office of the Inspector General issued a report on March 4, 2010 that tracked the failure of ICE to oversee the program, properly review the agencies that wish to participate, effectively train law enforcement, address civil rights concerns, and provide precise data to Congress and the public.

Recently, another report highlights the fact that ICE cannot track expenditures and ensure that money allocated for 287 (g) is being spent in the manner Congress intended.

Furthermore, 287 (g) agreements have proven to be ineffective in addressing the priority of ICE to deport noncitizens who pose a safety threat, and have opened the door towards civil rights violations and general mistrust of law enforcement in immigrant communities.

The leading policing research nonprofit, the Police Foundation, has spoken on behalf of law enforcement, urging that “immigration enforcement by local police undermines their core public safety mission, diverts scarce resources, increases their exposure to liability and litigation, and exacerbates fear in communities already distrustful of police.”

There no longer exists any justification for continuing this failed program.

[Your name]

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