Gov. Bob McDonnell formally asked the federal government to grant Virginia State Police the power to enforce immigration laws, thrusting the state back into the center of a vigorous national debate on immigration policy.
Following through on a campaign promise, McDonnell is seeking approval from Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to expand the 287(g) program to the state police — which would provide them with the training and authorization from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to identify and detain illegal immigrants.
“A partnership of this nature will serve to improve public safety, while providing more resources to an underfunded and understaffed federal agency in the fight against criminal illegal immigration,” McDonnell wrote in a letter released Thursday. “The federal government is clearly responsible for border security and immigration law enforcement in this country. However, Section 287(g) of the amended Immigration and Nationality Act wisely permits state and local assistance in that enforcement.”
ICE spokesman Richard Rocha said there is no timetable for a decision on McDonnell’s request, explaining the agency would “examine the resources in the area and see if ICE has any other programs that are suitable.”
McDonnell envisions that troopers would focus on violent crimes, major drug offenses and drunken driving; State Police officials applauded the push Thursday.
However, some analysts say it will inflame an already toxic issue that should be fixed by the federal government.
“Certainly in the current atmosphere, I would hope that the request would be refused,” said Alan Kraut, a professor of immigration history at American University. “It’s a highly volatile environment, in which granting of these powers for Virginia State Police would have very serious repercussions.”
McDonnell’s action comes on the heels of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s ruling that state law enforcement officers can ask the immigration status of a person stopped or arrested.
Dozens of localities — including Loudoun County, Prince William County, Frederick County and Manassas — and a handful of state police departments already use 287(g).
Since July 2006, the program is credited with identifying more than 70,000 suspected illegal immigrants. As of July, criminal deportations had increased 38 percent from a year earlier, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
