287g and Secure Communites are programs of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency that allows local police officers, like sheriffs’ deputies and city police officers, to enforce federal immigration law by entering into agreements with the federal agency. As part of this program, federal and local agencies can enter into agreements, known as “MOU’s”, promoted as ways to remove dangerous felons from the country. However, most of the people deported under these agreements were arrested for driving without a license or other minor offenses.
Currently there are 63 active 287(g) MOU’s in 20 states. 39 of the MOU’s are in southern states.
* North Carolina has more 287(g) counties than any other state.
* 70,000 people have been deported under this program since January 2006.
* In North Carolina, from January through September 2008, of the approximately 3,000 people placed in removal proceedings as a result of this program, 56% were charged with motor vehicle offenses, including no operators’ license and DWI.
Resources:
The Policies and Politics of Local Immigration Enforcement Laws by the NC ACLU and UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law
287(g) and other ICE ACCESS Programs in 2008 by SCSJ’s Marty Rosenbluth
