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Hamilton Spectator
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
The revival of an old program delegates Trump immigration enforcement to local police
As part of the Trump administration's push to carry out mass deportations, the agency responsible for immigration enforcement has aggressively revived and expanded a decades-old program that delegates immigration enforcement powers to state and local law enforcement agencies. Under the 287(g) program led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement , police officers can interrogate immigrants in their custody and detain them for potential deportation . Since President Donald Trump took office in January, ICE has rapidly expanded the number of signed agreements it has with law enforcement agencies across the country. The reason is clear. Those agreements vastly beef up the number of immigration enforcement staff available to ICE, which has about 6,000 deportation officers, as they aim to meet Trump's goal of deporting as many of the roughly 11 million people in the country illegally as they can. Here's a look at what these agreements are and what critics say about them: What is a 287(g) agreement and what's the benefit to ICE? These agreements are signed between a law enforcement agency and ICE and allow the law enforcement agency to perform certain types of immigration enforcement actions. There are three different types of agreements. —Under the 'jail services model,' law enforcement officers can screen people detained in jails for immigration violations. —The 'warrant service officer' model authorizes state and local law enforcement officers to comply with ICE warrants or requests on immigrants while they are at their agency's jails. —The 'task force model' gives local officers the ability to investigate someone's immigration status during their routine police duties. These agreements were authorized by a 1996 law, but it wasn't until 2002 that the federal government actually signed one of these agreements with a local agency. The first agreement was with Florida's Department of Law Enforcement. 'The benefit to ICE is that it expands the ability to enforce immigration law across multiple jurisdictions,' said John Torres, who served as acting director of ICE from 2008 to 2009. Earlier in his career, he said, he was assigned to the Los Angeles jail and would interview any foreign citizen who came through the jail to see if they were in the country illegally. But if a jail has a 287(g) agreement with ICE it frees up those agents at the jail to do something else. What's going on with these agreements under the Trump administration? The number of signed agreements has ballooned under Trump in a matter of months. In December of last year, ICE had 135 agreements with law enforcement agencies across 21 states. By May 19, ICE had signed 588 agreements with local and state agencies across 40 states, with an additional 83 agencies pending approval. Roughly half of the pacts are in Florida, where Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis recently announced the arrest of more than 1,100 immigrants in an orchestrated sweep between local and federal officials. Texas, where Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has also allied himself with Trump on immigration, comes in second. Other states topping the list are Georgia and North Carolina. A majority of the agreements are with sheriff's departments, a reflection of the fact that they are largely responsible for running jails in America. But other agencies have also signed the agreements including the Florida and Texas National Guard, the Florida Department of Lottery Services and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The expansion of agreements 'has been unprecedented in terms of the speed and the breath,' said Amien Kacou, attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union in Florida. 'ICE under the Trump administration has made a push in every state essentially to have them cooperate,' Kacou said. So what are the concerns? Immigrants, and their attorneys and advocates say these agreements can lead to racial profiling and there's not enough oversight. 'If you are an immigrant, or if you sound like an immigrant or you look like an immigrant, you are likely to be detained here in Florida,' said Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet, executive director at Hope Community Center in Apopka, central Florida. These concerns are especially acute over the task force model since those models allow law enforcement officers to carry out immigration enforcement actions as part of their daily law enforcement work. Lena Graber, a senior staff attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center which advocates for immigrants, said that the Obama administration phased out the task force model in 2012 after concerns that law enforcement organizations authorized under it were racially profiling people when making arrests. The first Trump administration considered bringing back that model but ultimately did not, she said. Graber said using this model, the local law enforcement have most of the powers of ICE agents. 'They're functionally ICE agents,' she said. Rights groups say that in areas where 287(g) agreements are in place, people in the country illegally are less likely to reach out to law enforcement authorities when they're victims of or witness to a crime for fear that authorities will turn around and arrest them instead. 'This is finding methods to terrorize communities,' said Katie Blankenship, an immigration attorney and co-founder of Sanctuary of the South. 'They create immigration enforcement and local law enforcement which they are not trained or able to do in any sort of just manner.' Federal authorities and local law enforcement agencies deny those critics and maintain that officers follow the laws when detaining people. 'There is no racial profiling,' said Miami Border Patrol chief agent Jeffrey Dinise at a recent press conference along with Florida and ICE officials. He explained that officers may stop cars after traffic violations. They run the tag plates through immigration systems and can see the legal status of the person, he said. Torres also said that local law enforcement officers operating under 287(g) agreements aren't 'out on an island by themselves.' There's a lot of coordination with ICE agents and the local law enforcement officers. 'They're not asking them to operate independently on their own,' Torres said. How does law enforcement join? Law enforcement agencies nominate officers to participate in the 287(g) program. They have to be U.S. citizens and pass a background check. On its website, ICE has created templates of the forms that law enforcement agencies interested in joining the program can use. The training varies. According to ICE's website , officers in the 'task force model' must complete a 40-hour online course that covers such topics as immigration law, civil rights and liability issues. As of mid-March about 625 officers had been trained under that model, the website said, although that number is likely much higher now as law enforcement agencies are signing up regularly. For the 'jail enforcement model,' there's a four week training as well as a refresher course. The Warrant Service Officer model requires eight hours of training. Austin Kocher, a researcher at Syracuse University in New York who focuses on immigration affairs, said that training has always been a challenge for the 287(g) program. It's expensive and often a strain on small departments to send them to a training center, so the training has gotten progressively shorter, he said.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Who won Jackson, MS, Democratic mayoral runoff? John Horhn, Chokwe Antar Lumumba election results are in
State Sen. John Horhn secured the Democratic nomination and is heavily favored to become Jackson's next mayor. Horhn, a 30-year veteran in the Mississippi Senate, finally found victory in his fourth run for mayor and it comes at a turbulent time. The city is locked in a tense standoff with the state, one he hopes to ease using relationships built in the Senate. If he wins June's general election — and no Democrat has lost in decades — Horhn faces the tough task of rebuilding trust with the city's shrinking population while taking on Jackson's well-publicized road, water and persistent crime issues. After polls closed Tuesday night, Horhn received nearly 18,000 votes. He decisively defeated incumbent Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba by more than 10,000 votes. Lumumba received only approximately 6,000 votes as of 9 p.m. Tuesday with 78 out of 80 precincts reporting. Lumumba just barely earned more votes than he did in the April 1 primary. Results are unofficial and still have to be certified by the Mississippi Secretary of State. As votes trickled in around 7:51 p.m., Horhn took a decisive lead that only became more commanding as the night wore on. By around 8:30 p.m., Horhn had built a nearly unsurmountable 6,300-vote lead. The runoff election mirrored the April 1 primaries, which saw Horhn dominate with 48.4% of the vote — just missing the 50%-plus-one needed to win outright. Speaking a few days after the primaries, Horhn told the Clarion Ledger he was "confident we will be victorious on April 22." Horhn celebrated with supporters at The Rookery in Downtown Jackson. As the race was called by media outlets, Lumumba had not arrived at his watch party at the Ice House. About 40 people enjoyed refreshments and talked with each other while instrumental versions of upbeat songs such as 'Celebrate!' played and results were displayed on the TV. For Lumumba, the runoff defeat signals the approaching end of his eight-year tenure as Jackson's mayor, which has been marked by notable achievements but also many setbacks in recent years. Accomplishments include, aiding the Jackson Public School District from a state takeover in 2017, two pay raises for police officers and firefighters, a revamped bus system, paving 144 roads, demolition of commercial structures and securing hundreds of millions in federal funds to repair Jackson's water system after a complete failure in 2022. But the recent setbacks include issues with garbage collection contracts, failures to the city's water systems and a federal indictment accusing him of participating in a wide-reaching bribery scandal he pleaded not guilty to in November 2024. For that, he will go on trial in the summer of 2026. On the Republican ticket, candidates Kenny Gee and Wilfred Beal faced off in the runoff. Gee only had secured 97 of the 153 Republican votes as of 9 p.m. but had a commanding lead toward the nomination, but either candidate faces an uphill climb come the general election as Jackson hasn't elected a Republican mayor in decades. Four Independent candidates will also be on the ballot come June, including candidates Rodney DePriest, Zach Servis, Lillie Stewart-Robinson and Kim Wade. Independents do not hold primaries and move straight to the general election. This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson MS mayor primary runoff election results: John Horhn, Chokwe Lumumba
CBS News
19-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Some Jan. 6 rioters pardoned by Trump are now embraced as heroes and candidates for office
Ryan Kelley thought he had a good shot at becoming Michigan's governor in 2022. That is, until he was charged with misdemeanors for participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. His campaign sputtered and he finished fourth out of five candidates in the Republican primary. Three years later, Kelley says, people ask him all the time to run for governor again. In today's America, where President Donald Trump returned to the White House and within hours pardoned some 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters, Kelley's two-month prison sentence for his actions that winter day in 2021 isn't the obstacle to public life that it might once have been. It may even be a ticket to political prominence. Far from being sidelined, those who rioted, assaulted police officers or broke into congressional offices during the violent attack are now being spotlighted as honored guest speakers at local Republican events around the country. They are getting a platform to tell their version of events and being hailed as heroes and martyrs. Some are considering runs for office, recognizing that at least among a certain segment of the pro-Trump base, they are seen not as criminals but as patriots. Kelley, a 43-year-old commercial real estate developer, is among those fielding new opportunities in the political arena. At a recent county Republican committee event in Jackson, Michigan, Kelley was met with hugs and handshakes. Dozens of attendees hollered and clapped when he introduced himself as "your favorite J6er." They gasped and shook their heads as Kelley recalled how his young son thought he was dead while he was in federal prison. They urged him to run for governor again in 2026. It is something he said he is debating. After Kelley finished speaking, attendees said they were touched by his story. "I've done much worse and did no jail time," said 58-year-old Todd Gillman, a woodworker and Republican chairman for the local congressional district. "Thank God people like Ryan Kelley are not intimidated by the lawfare that was used against them." It makes sense that Republicans are seizing the chance to showcase Jan. 6 rioters, said Matt Dallek, a historian at George Washington University who studies the conservative movement. Trump has likened those rioters to " political prisoners " and " warriors " for defending him and his false claims that the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden was stolen. There is no credible evidence the 2020 election was tainted or that Trump was the winner — facts backed up by federal and state election officials and Trump's own attorney general. Trump's allegations of fraud were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges appointed by Trump. "Those who are pardoned can testify, like no one else can, to the horrific power of the federal government to destroy their lives," Dallek said. "It's a potent rallying cry, and also probably a potent fundraising tool." But there also is a danger to elevating them, he said. Many of those pardoned by the Republican president used violence to stop the peaceful transfer of power, and juries determined their actions to be criminal. "It is, I think, a mainstreaming, a growing acceptance on the right of political violence, as long as it's done in the service of Trump and his ongoing election lie," Dallek said. Kelley, who did not commit violence or enter the Capitol , pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor trespassing charge . He said he saw some things at the Capitol — people breaking windows, for example — that he did not like. But he also flatly denied an audience member's use of the term "insurrection." "It was a protest that turned into a little bit of a scuffle later in the day for a couple of minutes, right?" he told the nodding crowd in Jackson, a midsize city west of Detroit that residents say hosted the first official meeting of the Republican Party in 1854. Extensive video footage and testimony from the events inside the Capitol on Jan. 6 show more than a scuffle as a mob of Trump supporters — some armed with poles, bats and bear spray — overwhelmed law enforcement, shattered windows and sent lawmakers and aides running into hiding. More than 100 police officers were injured, with some dragged into the crowd and beaten or attacked with makeshift weapons. Kelley said the reason he pleaded guilty was to avoid more serious charges. That differed from his tone in his sentencing hearing in 2023, when he told the judge that his actions outside the Capitol, from crossing the police line to riling up other rioters and ripping a tarp, were wrong. The judge told Kelley: "I think you misused the platform that you had as a candidate for elected office to minimize and, frankly, to lie about what happened." As he gazed out at an American flag banner while addressing the crowd in Jackson, Kelley said he "was a political prisoner for standing up for what I believe was right." That resonated with attendee Marilyn Acton, a 68-year-old mental health counselor. She hopes pardoned Jan. 6 rioters such as Kelley become more involved in Republican politics. "I would like them to totally get involved, because I think people need to know the truth," she said. By The Associated Press' count, at least two dozen local Republican groups nationwide in recent months have invited Jan. 6 rioters to speak at regular meetings or special fundraisers, some with titles such as "Insurrection Hoax" and "Patriots Vindicated." They include people who only trespassed at the Capitol but also rioters who were convicted and pardoned for more serious crimes such as carrying a firearm on Capitol grounds or violently attacking law enforcement. The Western Wake Republican Club in North Carolina in March featured remarks from James Grant, a pardoned rioter who was among the first to assault police officers and breach a security perimeter during the attack on the Capitol. Grant, who later climbed into the Capitol through a broken window and entered a senator's office, used the stage to reiterate his belief that the 2020 election was stolen and suggest that the actions on the front line of the riots were led by "undercovers and federal agents." In a video recording of the event, he also decried the conditions in prison and said the experience was traumatic for him. A Republican women's club in Lawrence County, Tennessee, earlier this month hosted an event for Ronald Colton McAbee. He was employed as a sheriff's deputy in Tennessee when he went to Capitol, dragging an officer away from a police line and punching another officer who tried to stop him. McAbee told the crowd the jury that convicted him of five felonies was biased and said he had been trying to help the officer in the melee. He encouraged those listening to get involved in politics and said he had considered running for office himself. "It has been a thought, and we'll see what happens," he said in a video recording of the event. Some of the local GOP groups welcoming Jan. 6 rioters have faced pushback from their communities, prompting them to relocate or even cancel scheduled events. In California, the Association of Monterey Bay Conservatives' event featuring six pardoned rioters faced so much public backlash that three potential venues canceled, according to TV station KSBW . When the event was ultimately held at the fourth venue in Salinas, protesters gathered outside the building. The Monterey Peace and Justice Center, a local nonprofit that condemned the event, said in an emailed statement that "rebranding these rioters as heroes is a dangerous distortion of history." Event organizer Karen Weissman told the AP in an email the group believed that it was "important for our community to hear their stories and hear a different perspective." David Becker, a former Justice Department lawyer and co-author of "The Big Truth," a book about Trump's 2020 election falsehoods, said he is troubled by anyone who would reward or celebrate what happened on Jan. 6. "We have to agree as a constitutional republic, as a democracy, that elections and the rule of law have meaning," he said. "And if we lose that meaning, if we attack our own institutions, we are going down a path where something even worse could happen in the future." Some pardoned rioters are taking things a step beyond speaking at political events and setting their sights on local, state or even federal office. Jake Lang, who was charged with assaulting an officer, civil disorder and other crimes before he was pardoned by Trump, recently announced he is running for Secretary of State Marco Rubio's vacant U.S. Senate seat in Florida. Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader who was sentenced to 22 years in prison after being convicted of seditious conspiracy and other crimes before his full pardon, said in an interview with Newsmax that he will take a "serious look at running for office" in 2026 or 2028 and believes his "future is in politics." In Texas, pardoned rioter Ryan Nichols announced a run for Congress but withdrew days later. Kelley, who has been asked to attend various political events around Michigan in recent months, said he is debating another run for governor in 2026, but is not sure he can commit his young family to the grind of the campaign. He said he wants Michigan to win, whether or not he is the one in office. Still, he recognizes that Trump's pardons have opened a window of opportunity that may not last forever. "Now is kind of the time that I could catapult with that, right?" he said in an interview. "We get a lot of hate, but I'm also going to get a lot of support."
