The Beaver County Young Democrats are collecting community comments in regards to the pending 287(g) program application submitted by Beaver County Sheriff, Tony Guy. Comments will be collected on a continuous basis and forwarded on to Sheriff Tony Guy, Commissioner Daniel C. Camp III, Commissioner Jack Manning, and/or Commissioner Tony Amadio. Please use this form to submit any comments, questions, concerns, or thoughts you have in regards to the the Sheriff's Department 287(g) program application. When submitting your comment, please select which elected official(s) you would like your message forwarded to.

Beaver County Sheriff's Office has applied for the 287(g) program, which will give them the ability to deputize their officers in partnership with ICE and enforce federal immigration laws. Beaver County Sheriff, Tony Guy, is responsible for filling out this memorandum. According to records, our Sheriff's Office 287(g) agreement is still pending and they are not currently listed as a participating agency. The commissioners have not approved, nor have they put forth, any sort of resolution for the county itself to enter into an agreement with ICE. The legality of a Sheriff unilaterally deciding to enter into such an agreement is currently being questioned in a lawsuit brought forth in Bucks County against their Sheriff, Fred Harran for entering into the 287(g) program without approval of the County. Bucks County and its taxpayers risk suffering a financial loss because of this.

In addition to the uncertain legality of the Sheriff entering this agreement, there are a multitude of moral and safety concerns to consider. Nationwide, there have been reports of ICE agents' misconduct, inappropriate and sometimes, unlawful behavior. There have been reports of abuse and civil rights violations at various Detention Centers around the country, including allegations of sexual abuse at Moshannon Valley Processing Center, a nearby immigration processing center.

Is the Beaver County Sheriff's Department comfortable associating with an agency that has had such allegations brought forth against it? Is the County prepared for the potential liabilities this opens them up to? Are the taxpayers willing to take on the financial burden if something goes astray, as it already has in many places across the United States? These are only a few of the questions that we are putting forth for the consideration of our local officials.

Please sign this form and add your own comments and concerns for our Sheriff and Commissioners to consider.