A program that allows state and local lawenforcement officials to enforce federal immigration laws came under heavy scrutiny Thursday in a heated and often emotional House hearing.
The program, known as 287(g), is being used in communities throughout the country, including Prince William, Loudoun and Fairfax counties in Northern Virginia, and Frederick County in Maryland. The program’s implementation in Prince William two years ago drew national attention.
“When the 287(g) program was started, it was supposed to be a way to get criminal aliens out of the jails and into the hands of federal authorities,” said House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr., D-Mich. “But the prior administration marketed these programs indiscriminately and failed to provide oversight.”
Since Prince William County officially started its program in March 2008, 1.7 percent of all people arrested or issued summonses were illegal immigrants, Police Chief Charlie Deane said Wednesday. Deane has stressed that crime victims and witnesses would be protected regardless of immigration status, and that the department was working hard to ensure it has the trust of the public.
Conyers pointed out that the percentage of jurisdictions using the program nationwide was rather small.
“We’re talking about 67 jurisdictions out of 17,000,” he said.
The federal government may not be able to keep up with increased demand for the program, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In fiscal 2007, ICE received 69 new applications but rejected most of them because of limited funding.
Other lawmakers and witnesses supported the program.
“Those who are serious about public safety should not only support the program, but also call for its expansion,” said Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, who co-wrote the legislation authorizing the 287(g) program. “We should do more, not less, to protect the lives and well-being of all Americans.”
Ray Tranchant, an administrator with Tidewater Community College in Virginia Beach, told the story of his daughter and her best friend, who were killed by an illegal immigrant driving drunk in 2007.
“We want desirable people here — this is America,” he said. “What this law does is take undesirable people and put them in the back of the immigration line, which is where they should be. We don’t like drunks. If you’re a drunk — go home. If you’re a murderer — go home.”
