I am writing to ask that the Department of Homeland Security terminate all of its existing 287(g) immigration enforcement agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies and to reject all pending applications for new 287(g) agreements.

The 287(g) program is notorious for its lack of transparency, negligent federal oversight, and the immense civil rights violations it has garnered. Ultimately, we know that any local law enforcement working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is bad for public safety. Having ICE agents or local law enforcement act as federal immigration agents means that immigrant communities are less likely to report crimes or act as witnesses.

Every year, the 287(g) programs throughout the country turn over thousands of residents to ICE - tearing apart families and leaving thousands of children without their families. This has ripple effects throughout entire communities as trust in public institutions erodes, workplace disruptions abound, and children’s and social welfare agencies are burdened with increasing workloads.

Additionally, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has emphasized that “287(g) agreements open up the possibility of racial profiling,” and that “ICE has failed to develop an oversight and accountability system to ensure that these local partners do not enforce immigration law in a discriminatory manner by resorting to racial profiling.” Indeed, 287(g) agreements disproportionately affect communities with fast-growing Latino populations with the vast majority of jurisdictions with 287(g) agreements having a Latino population growth rate higher than the national average.

We urge you to terminate all existing 287(g) agreements and to reject all pending applications for new agreements. Immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility and the harms to community trust in police and to bias-free law enforcement caused by this federal/state collaboration are too damaging.