Press Release

DHS and the 287(g) Enforcement Program: Any Club that has Sheriff Joe Arpaio as a Member is a Pretty Rotten Club

October 5, 2009 – For Immediate Release
Contact: Shuya Ohno: sohno@immigrationforum.org | (202) 383-5983 | (202) 309-5645 cell

Washington, DC – According to reports out of Arizona on Friday, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County partially renewed his 287(g) agreement with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).. Reportedly, DHS declined to renew Sheriff Arpaio’s agreement in whole, eliminating the authority for Sheriff’s Deputies to engage in controversial neighborhood roundups of Latinos and immigrants under the guise of immigration enforcement. The following is a statement by Rich Stolz, Campaign Manager of the Reform Immigration FOR America campaign, a national effort to unite faith, business, labor, progressive, civil rights, and immigrant organizations to pass comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level.

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, in renewing even a partial 287(g) agreement with Sheriff Joe Arpaio, missed an important opportunity to stand against racial profiling and arrests without probable cause. Sheriff Arpaio’s smug defiance of the rule of law and the authority of the federal government underscore the problems inherent in the 287(g) program With non-existent or inconsistent federal oversight, rogue, locally-elected cops have used the program to score political points while terrorizing immigrant communities and undermining public safety.

Certainly, more was expected of Secretary Napolitano and President Obama by voters in Arizona and especially from immigrant, Latino, and Asian voters who played such a critical role in the President’s 2008 victory. On the eve of an election year, with little concrete progress to show on immigration reform and a divisive health care debate that has scapegoated immigrants, the President and his party must overcome the perception that they are pandering to anti-immigrant demagogues and abandoning key constituencies.

Effective immigration law enforcement requires comprehensive reform of our nation’s broken immigration system. Congress and the Administration must restore the rule of law, not rely on patchwork enforcement measures such as 287(g) that are prone to abuse.

Meanwhile, any jurisdiction still considering whether to renew a 287(g) agreement with DHS should think twice about whether it wants to remain in bed with the likes of Arpaio. Any club that has Sheriff Joe Arpaio as a member is a pretty rotten club.

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ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN: The Reform Immigration FOR America campaign is a coalition of more than 600 faith, labor, business, progressive, and immigration reform groups that have joined together to get comprehensive immigration reform passed. For more information please visit www.reformimmigrationforamerica.org or www.reformamigratoriaproamerica.org