Latest news with #TaskForceModel
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
South Dakota agencies seek out ICE authority under 287(g)
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – Two more South Dakota law enforcement agencies are seeking out hands-on authority to identify and remove illegal immigrants from the state. The Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and Highway Patrol applied for a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) program called 287(g), which trains and certifies certain officers with specified immigration duties, with limitations and oversight depending on the agreement's terms. The two agencies both applied under the Task Force Model (TFM), where officers incorporate immigration authority in their day-to-day duties. Back in April, two South Dakota sheriff's offices joined 287(g) as warrant service officers (WSOs), who can identify criminal immigrants and immigration violators who are already in custody. As of May 22, these are the only two confirmed participating agencies from South Dakota under 287(g). If the DCI and Highway Patrol's applications are approved, then four total state law enforcement agencies will perform immigration authority tasks for ICE under 287(g). ICE activity increased in South Dakota, after agents arrested eight people in Madison at Manitou Equipment and Global Polymer Industries in May. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), section 287(g), ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) partner with law enforcement agencies under a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for specified immigration authority. Only law enforcement agencies can apply for ICE's 287(g) program. According to ICE, 287(g) operates under three main program models: Warrant Service Officer (WSO): ICE trains and certifies certain law enforcement officers only within the agency's jail to serve and execute administrative or civil immigration warrants on removable immigrants. Jail Enforcement Model (JEM): allows officers inside a jail to identify, interrogate, and determine immigration status of individuals, (who possess convicted criminal or pending criminal charges and been arrested by state or local law enforcement agencies), and aid in potential immigration proceedings. Task Force Model (TFM): a 'force multiplier,' intended for law enforcement officers on the field or on routine police duties to enforce limited immigration authority, with ICE oversight. While applying for the program, letters of intent and an MOA must be submitted to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for consideration. According to ICE, letters of intent must specify which model program will be used, the current relationship between the law enforcement agency and ICE, the law enforcement agency's location, and the number of deputies that will receive training. Once an agency signs an MOA for the 287(g) program, ICE will train law enforcement in immigration law, multicultural communication, and methods to avoid racial profiling. According to ICE's website, several states have passed or are considering state legislation mandating law enforcement agencies to apply for MOAs under 287(g). On Wednesday South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced that DCI agents will train as task force officers under 287(g). Two DCI officers- one from East river and one from West river- will train as task force officers under TFM, according to Jackley. As a task force officer under 287(g), the two agents will be granted immigration law enforcement as a part of their day-to-day duties. 'It's a force multiplier, it saves the taxpayers, arrives at the right solution- because it gets violent criminals and drug dealers- that are not legally- here out of our state,' Jackley said in a Friday interview with KELOLAND News. Jackley said he thinks the community will respond positively to the partnership because this federal authority will only apply to violent immigrant criminals and drug dealers. 'Nobody wants them in our community,' Jackley said. 'They're not here legally.' Jackley said TFM will speed up the process for state and federal authorities to directly move forward with deportations. 'Nobody wants to see a victim go through more process than the victim has to, or use of taxpayer dollars that's either duplicative or not effective,' Jackley said. Jackley said he hopes to train more officers in the future, with just under 70 agents working for the DCI. 'It's going to take a little time,' Jackley said. 'I want to get established where we have at least components in East river and West river have that leadership in place, and then as the need comes about, we will train additional agents.' According to Jackley's office, a Task Force Program will be headquartered in Pierre. Jackley announced the partnership between the DCI and ICE after touring the Southern border on May 21. Jackley told KELOLAND News that the next step is for ICE to train the DCI officers to perform under TFM. Jackley said the training requires 40 hours and will be virtual. On May 21, Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden wrote a letter of intent to ICE for Highway Patrol to participate in TFM under 287(g). Rhoden said he's proud of the current work by ICE 'to keep Americans safe and remove illegal alien criminals,' according to the letter of intent, and the Highway Patrol partnership will 'serve and meet the needs of South Dakota, help remove dangerous criminals, and keep drugs out of our communities.' In the letter, Rhoden said five state patrol officers will serve as task force officers. Under 287(g), task force officers enforce immigration authority during their daily duties. Highway patrol duties include traffic law enforcement- like traffic stops- drug interdiction, and more, according to the South Dakota Department of Public Safety website. Rhoden wrote the letter of intent the same day he visited South Dakota National Guard soldiers at the Southern Border. The next step is for Highway Patrol to sign an MOA under the TFM, and submit the letter of intent and MOA to DHS. KELOLAND News reached out to Highway Patrol for a response, but the agency said they were unable to speak this week. As of March, the Hughes and Minnehaha County Sheriff's Offices participates in the 287(g) program as WSOs. 'Recently, with the changes that the federal government has made with the uptake in detentions that we're doing, we just want to be good partners with ICE and our federal agency partners and make sure that we're getting the training that we need to be effective in what they're asking us to do,' Captain Adam Zishka with the Minnehaha County Sheriff's Office said to KELOLAND News in April. As of May 23, Zishka said no officers have been trained yet, and the county continues to wait for details on how many jail officers will receive the Warrant Service Officer training. Patrick Callahan, sheriff for the Hughes County Sheriff's Office, told KELOLAND News that they haven't received training either, as of May 23. 'My intent is to take the training myself and act as the Warrant Service Office at the Hughes County Jail,' Patrick Callahan, sheriff for the Hughes County Sheriff's Office, said in a statement to KELOLAND News in April. 'HCJ is one of the largest jails in South Dakota and holds inmates from across Central South Dakota.' To learn more about the sheriff's offices involvement, read the full article here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Indianapolis Star
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
These Indiana agencies are officially partnering with ICE to enforce immigration law
Since President Donald Trump's inauguration, four Indiana law enforcement agencies have signed up to participate in the federal government's 287(g) Program, which allows their officers to enforce certain immigration law. The program allows local law enforcement to partner with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, granting trained deputies the right to enforce immigration laws within their jurisdiction. It prioritizes the arrest and detention of people in the country illegally who are accused or convicted of crimes. ICE offers law enforcement agencies three models for enforcing immigration law: Earlier this year, the Indiana General Assembly attempted to approve legislation that would have allowed Indiana's Department of Homeland Security to disburse grants to law enforcement agencies seeking to participate in the 287(g) program. The funds would help pay salaries and overtime for officers who go through the training, while federal funds would pay for the training and equipment costs. Both pieces of legislation, Senate Bill 430 and House Bill 1158, ultimately failed to be approved by the Indiana General Assembly. Here's a list of the four Indiana law enforcement agencies that have signed up for the government's 287(g) program as of May 12, 2025, according to data from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement website. On April 10, 2025, the Greens Fork Police Department, which serves a small rural town in eastern Indiana, signed up to participate in ICE's Task Force Model. It's the only municipality law enforcement agency in the state to sign up for the federal government's 287(g) program. The town of Greens Fork has a total population of 335, according to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data, the most recent available for the town. Out of the 335 people living in the city, four people were identified as Hispanic or Latino, and all foreign-born people living in the city were considered naturalized citizens, according to the U.S. Census Bureau data. Population breakdown, according to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data: The Greens Fork Police Department is the only law enforcement agency in Wayne County that has signed up to join the federal government's 287(g) program. At the beginning of the year, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office announced it was in compliance with all of ICE's requests and is following all protocols after the Center for Immigration Studies, an independent, nonpartisan, and non-profit research organization, mistakenly labeled it a sanctuary county. The county has since rectified the issue. On March 26, 2025, the Noble County Sheriff's Office, which serves a rural county northeast of Fort Wayne, signed up to participate in ICE's Warrant Service Officer Model. Noble County Sheriff Max Weber told local media in March that the county had already been working with ICE. Noble County Jail Commander Jenny Cummins shared that the county books at least one non-citizen into jail at least once a week. The county is estimated to serve 47,417 people, according to the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau Data. Population breakdown, according to the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau data: On March 17, 2025, the Jasper County Sheriff's Office, which serves a rural county an hour south of Gary, Indiana, signed up to participate in ICE's Warrant Service Officer Model. The county is estimated to serve 33,198 people, according to the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau. Population breakdown, according to the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau data: On March 3, 2025, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, which serves the county north of Indianapolis, signed up to participate in ICE's Jail Enforcement Model. The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office made headlines earlier this year when it became the first Indiana county to sign up for to be part of the 287g program. "By strengthening our partnership with ICE and other federal agencies, we will address criminal activities linked to illegal immigration," Chief Deputy John Lowes, who will oversee the initiative, said in a news release. The county is estimated to serve 371,645 people, according to the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau. Population breakdown, according to the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau data:
CNN
05-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
How states are partnering with ICE to remove hundreds of immigrants
Across the United States, local agencies have become immigration enforcers under a federal program officials say strengthens public safety, but critics warn spreads fear, erodes trust and threatens the fabric of immigrant communities. Known as the 287(g) program, it was created under the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act and allows ICE to authorize state and local law enforcement officers to perform specific immigration enforcement duties under ICE's supervision. The program is seen by some as a way to rev up President Donald Trump's effort on illegal immigration as the Department of Justice moves to prosecute state and local officials accused of impeding that effort. The Department of Homeland Security highlighted the collaboration between federal and local law enforcement in a news release Monday, pointing to a four-day operation that led to the apprehension of nearly 800 undocumented migrants. Dubbed 'Operational Tidal Wave,' this kind of collaboration, the release said, is 'a preview of what is to come around the country: large scale operations that employ our state and local law enforcement partners to get criminal illegal aliens off our streets.' The 287(g) program, which has seen increased use during Trump's second term as part of his effort to fulfill a campaign promise to address immigration, has been in existence for almost 30 years and was once the focal point of a lawsuit against one of America's most notorious sheriffs. Through the program, ICE can partner with local agencies through three models: the Jail Enforcement Model, the Task Force Model and the Warrant Service Officer program, according to ICE. 'The Jail Enforcement Model allows your officers to identify and process removable aliens currently in your jail or detention facility who have pending or active criminal charges while they're in your custody,' according to ICE. The Task Force Model allows local officers, under ICE oversight, to enforce certain immigration laws during routine policing. The Warrant Service Officer Program trains local law enforcement officers – something ICE says it bears the entire cost of – to serve administrative immigration warrants on detainees in their custody. State law enforcement agencies wanting to participate in the program must enter into memorandums of agreement with ICE, according to the act, before participating in the program. Memorandums of Agreement are arrangements made between the Department of Homeland Security and local law enforcement agencies, granting certain state and local officers federal immigration enforcement powers such as entering data into ICE's database and case management system, interviewing people about their immigration status, accessing DHS databases and issuing immigration detainers, the American Immigration Council says. By the end of President Barack Obama's administration, 34 local law enforcement agencies were part of the program, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. As of April 24, ICE had signed more than 450 memorandums of agreement for 287(g) programs covering 38 states, according to its website, meaning more than 450 agencies are now a part of the program. Most are sheriff's offices and police departments; some are state-level agencies such as the Alaska Department of Corrections and Montana Department of Justice. Florida has several agencies in the program statewide, the most of any participating state. They include the Florida Highway Patrol, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida State Guard, the Florida Department of Agricultural Law Enforcement and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and all have signed collaboration agreements with ICE, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in February. These agreements are meant to operate under federal supervision and supplement — not replace — federal efforts, according to a January executive order from the president. 'The growth of the 287g program, in particular of the Task Force Model, further fuels Trump's mass deportation agenda by expanding the dragnet for putting people into the arrest to deportation pipeline,' Immigrant Legal Resource Center says. Juan Cuba, with the Miami Freedom Project, said '287(g) agreements are fundamentally at odds with the goals of local policing.' 'They erode community trust in local law enforcement and make it less likely for people who are undocumented, or families of mixed status, to call 911 or report crimes,' Cuba said Sunday. 'These agreements also redirect limited resources that could be focused on serious crimes. 287(g) makes us all less safe.' The controversial 287(g) program was once at the center of a lawsuit filed against Joe Arpaio, a man dubbed 'America's Toughest Sheriff,' after complaints that immigration raids by his deputies amounted to unconstitutional roundups of Latinos. An investigation later found the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office had a pattern of civil rights abuses that 'led the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to suspend its cooperation agreement (under section 287(g)) with the sheriff's office and restrict the MCSO's access to immigration databases through the Secure Communities program,' the American Immigration Council reported. The program has created a system of racial profiling by law enforcement, according to the ACLU, which has been working to end the program for over a decade. The non-profit organization has called it a way in which 'sheriffs notorious for racism, xenophobia, and civil rights violations have been able to target and attack immigrants in their communities.' A 2022 report from the organization – titled in part 'License to Abuse' – suggests 'dozens of sheriff partners in the 287(g) program have records of racism, abuse, and violence,' with at least 59% of participating sheriffs having 'records of anti-immigrant, xenophobic rhetoric, contributing to a continued climate of fear for immigrants and their families, undermining public safety and contributing to the risk of racial profiling.' The program can also be expensive for local jurisdictions. While Immigration and Customs Enforcement pays for the training, local agencies must pay for personnel and administrative costs; overtime for officers carrying out immigration-related duties; and any legal costs, the Center for American Progress wrote in a 2018 report. That could mean paying fines or legal fees. The North Carolina Justice Center, in a report about the costs to local communities enforcing federal immigration laws, cited examples in which communities paid as much as $255,000 to settle claims involving ICE detainers. Cuba, with the Miami Freedom Project, said he wants people to know one thing: 'What the public needs to know is that the Trump administration is using these agreements to force local police to do its dirty work at the expense of public safety and our civil liberties.' In a sweeping show of force, ICE announced Saturday nearly 800 people were arrested across Florida in just four days, the result of a massive, multiagency crackdown that has sent shock waves through communities. DeSantis touted the operation as 'an example of FL and (the Department of Homeland Security) partnering to deliver big results on immigration enforcement and deportations,' according to a statement on X. 'Florida is leading the nation in active cooperation with the Trump administration for immigration enforcement and deportation operations!' DeSantis wrote in a separate post Saturday. Residents in Doral, Florida – home to the largest Venezuelan immigrant population in the country – had expressed worry this agreement would inject fear in the community and warned that undocumented victims of a crime will elect to stay silent rather than report it. They were also concerned the agreement would make the police department less effective at responding to local crime. Still, the Doral City Council this month unanimously approved the partnership with ICE – with one official saying they had no choice. DeSantis and other Republican leaders in Florida have pushed local officials in the state to sign agreements with ICE under the 287(g) program, and state leaders have warned that Florida law allows for the removal of officials who refuse to cooperate with the federal government's immigration efforts. 'Passing this is painful for all of us,' Doral City Attorney Lorenzo Cobiella said on April 16, when the city agreed to join the program. 'We have very limited discretion on what we can do. We're being mandated by the state to take certain actions and if we don't, we're being threatened with criminal penalties.' This month, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed Senate Bill 1164, also known as the Arizona ICE Act, which would have required state and local officials to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement through programs such as 287(g). In a letter to Senate President Warren Petersen, who introduced the legislation, Hobbs said Arizona should not be forced to 'take marching orders from Washington, DC.' Petersen criticized the veto as 'another slap in the face' to Arizonans affected by border issues, while former Border Patrol agent Art Del Cueto accused Hobbs of endangering public safety by limiting cooperation with federal authorities, according to a release. CNN's Isabel Rosales contributed to this report.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jacksonville advocacy groups protest deportation efforts as ICE conducts mass operation
Community members and advocates gathered in Jacksonville on Saturday to demand an end to federal, state, and local deportation efforts. A rally organized by the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance took over the sidewalks at the intersection of Beach Boulevard and Southside Boulevard. Participants chanted and displayed homemade signs to cars passing by in hopes of getting their message across: 'We want to show not just the immigrant community but our elected leaders… we don't stand for these mass deportations," said Maria Garcia, a member of the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance. 'We don't stand for these attacks on immigrants. We don't stand for third country deportations and the flouting of the rule of law in this country, the flouting of the constitution. We don't stand for it and we're gonna keep fighting until we win.' A pastor from Riverside Church also spoke to the group, recalling stories she'd heard from immigrant members of their congregation. 'In Matthew 25, Jesus said, 'I was a stranger, and you welcomed me,'...so many people forget,' said Reverend Maddie Hilt. The rally happened just hours after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the results of a 'first-of-its-kind' partnership between state and federal agencies this week. According to ICE, its Miami branch, in collaboration with Florida law enforcement, arrested nearly 800 undocumented immigrants in the first four days of 'Operation Tidal Wave.' The agency then pushed to a webpage on its 287(g) program, which enables partnership with state and local law enforcement. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office signed an agreement to participate in the program's Task Force Model in February, according to ICE. The University of North Florida's campus police have done the same. 'Jacksonville is setting the standard for cities across America. We are taking decisive action to ensure our community is safe and we are fully supporting federal and state authorities in enforcing immigration laws,' said City Council Vice President Kevin Carrico, following the passage of a local immigration bill. 'This policy demonstrates our commitment to upholding the rule of law and protecting the interests of our citizens.' [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]on The decision of local agencies and city leaders to join in on the national immigration crackdown does not sit well with Saturday's protestors. 'We want to show them that this is not popular legislation, that this is not going to win them voters. In fact, we are going to vote all politicians that support this kind of discrimination, xenophobia, out of office,' said Garcia. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Orlando intends to follow immigration law, Dyer says. The Trust Act's future is unclear.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer on Tuesday said he and the city have no intention of violating federal and state immigration laws in response to a threatening letter from Florida's attorney general, but the mayor didn't address the future of the city's so-called 'Trust Act.' The policy — which says city employees cannot ask residents their immigration status — came under fire late Monday after Attorney General James Uthmeier sent a letter to Dyer, charging that the Trust Act is illegal under a 2019 Florida law. Uthmeier, appointed to the role by Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year, alleged it was a 'sanctuary policy' and that consequences for enforcing it ranged from legal action to removing Dyer from office. Dyer, Orlando's mayor since 2003, responded with his own letter Tuesday morning, informing Uthmeier that 'we take your letter, Florida law, and federal immigration law very seriously.' 'Neither I nor the Orlando Police Department have any intention of violating federal or state law, and as you know, we have signed the Memorandum of Agreement 287(g) Task Force Model with ICE,' he wrote. 'Our OPD officers are in the process of being trained by ICE to provide assistance at its direction. We assure you we will continue to use our best efforts to support the enforcement of federal immigration law, as well as state law.' The Trust Act is nowhere mentioned in Dyer's letter, and the city did not respond immediately to questions from the Orlando Sentinel regarding whether it remains in force. In his letter Monday, Uthmeier took aim at the city's policy of not requesting the immigration status of crime victims, witnesses, people who report a crime, and non-criminal traffic offenders, among others, and of not conditioning city services on someone's status. The 2018 policy also includes language saying it does not 'prohibit any City of Orlando employee from cooperating with federal immigration authorities as required by state or federal law.' Uthmeier's letter cites an April 7 city council meeting in which city officials including Dyer vowed to uphold the act. In his Monday post on X that included the letter, which tagged Dyer's account, he said 'there will be consequences' if the policy is followed, including possible 'removal from office.' After the volley of letters, the future of the Trust Act is unclear. The 'Fair Treatment of All (Trust Act Policy)' was approved amid fears that residents would be hesitant to report crimes or serve as witnesses in investigations if they feared being deported. At the time, Commissioner Tony Ortiz, who led efforts to pass the policy, said he also feared undocumented immigrants being preyed upon by criminals who knew crimes wouldn't be reported. Ortiz, a Republican and retired Orlando Police Department officer, said Monday that the Trust Act isn't a sanctuary policy, and doesn't defy state and federal law. 'There's nothing in no way shape or form that is meant to be rebellious against the federal government,' he said. 'We're not a sanctuary city.' He said he worked on the policy seven years ago as a way to help with a problem he faced in his law enforcement career. 'One of the issues we had to deal with is there was a lot of violence committed against immigrants around the city and none of them would speak,' he said. 'We were trying to get a path of communication from those who came here to work … for them to feel comfortable talking with law enforcement.' The Orlando City Council's most recent discussion of the Trust Act occurred last week, as immigrant advocates urged Dyer and city officials to back out of OPD's cooperation agreement with ICE. That agreement was signed by Chief Eric Smith last month, and was discovered by advocates when it was posted to ICE's website, alongside scores of others representing every county in Florida and numerous cities. It touched off a vigorous discussion at Orlando's April 7 council meeting. Dyer said that he disagreed with the law requiring the agreement, but also said he didn't see it as optional. However, he vowed the city would still stick to the Trust Act — a declaration which seems to have incensed Uthmeier. 'We follow federal and state law,' he said. 'We'll still adhere to the Trust Act, which means that at a traffic stop, we're not going to ask for documentation.' This is a developing story, please check back for updates. rygillespie@
