Legislative Policy Briefs (Current)

SENATE BILL 35
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SENATE BILL 150
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Legislative Policy Briefs (127th GA)
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SENATE BILL 260

Synopsis
"State and Local Immigration Enforcement" describes the phenomenon of state and local law enforcement agencies becoming involved in the enforcement of immigration laws, which until recently was solely a federal responsibility.

Current Status in Ohio
Currently, Ohio law enforcement agencies can enter into agreements with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.  However, they are limited to the enforcement of criminal provisions of immigration law.  In June of 2007 the Ohio Attorney General issued an opinion, finding that a county sheriff may arrest and detain an alien if there is probable cause that the alien violated a criminal provision of immigration law, but may not arrest and detain an alien for a civil provision of immigration law.  Read the opinion.  Furthermore, the Attorney General issued another opinion, which stated that current Ohio law only permits county sheriffs to enter into agreements with federal officials to enforce criminal provisions, but not civil violations of immigration law.  Read the opinion.

• Thus far, only one Ohio law enforcement agency has entered into such an agreement with ICE, and that is Butler County Sheriff's Office.

However, Senate Bill (SB) 35, sponsored by Senator Jimmy Stewart, (R-Albany) and introduced in February 2009, would mandate that the Ohio Attorney General pursue a memorandum of agreement with ICE to deputize Ohio law enforcement officers as immigration enforcement officers of both criminal and civil immigration law.

Current Status in Neighboring States
INDIANA:  There is no current law specifically authorizing state or local departments to enforce immigration law and there are no departments participating in the 287(g) program.

KENTUCKY:  There is no current law specifically authorizing state or local departments to enforce immigration law and there are no departments participating in the 287(g) program.

MICHIGAN:  There is no current law specifically authorizing state or local departments to enforce immigration law and there are no departments participating in the 287(g) program.  However, current law mandates that corrections institutions keep on file a list of aliens and to immediately report them to the nearest office of the United States immigration service. MCL Chapter 404 Act 59 of 1921. Section 404.31.

PENNSYLVANIA:  There is no current law specifically authorizing state or local departments to enforce immigration law and there are no departments participating in the 287(g) program.

WEST VIRGINIA:  There is no current law specifically authorizing state or local departments to enforce immigration law and there are no departments participating in the 287(g) program.

Current Status across United States
In 2008, 214 bills related to immigration and law enforcement were introduced in the States, and of those, ten were enacted.  See National Conference of State Legislatures.

In July 2009, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced  that ICE standardized the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) used to enter into 287(g) partnerships-with a focus on criminal aliens and providing uniform policies for partner state and local immigration enforcement efforts throughout the United States.

The new MOA aligns 287(g) local operations with major ICE enforcement priorities-specifically, the identification and removal of criminal aliens. To address concerns that individuals may be arrested for minor offenses as a guise to initiate removal proceedings, the new agreement explains that participating local law enforcement agencies are required to pursue all criminal charges that originally caused the offender to be taken into custody.

The new MOA also defines the objectives of the 287(g) program, outlines the immigration enforcement authorities granted by the agreement and provides guidelines for ICE's supervision of local agency officer operations, information reporting and tracking, complaint procedures and implementation measures.

Please see the side-by-side comparison document below for more details on the changes.

Additionally, today ICE announced eleven new 287(g) agreements with law enforcement agencies, bringing the total to 78 state and local agencies that have entered into agreements with ICE.  For a list of all agencies under agreement, see the ICE webpage on the 287(g) program.

History

On September 30, 1996, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act was enacted and added section 287(g) to the Immigration and Nationality Act.  Thus, a "287(g) program" refers to the section of the act which authorizes ICE to enter into written agreements under which state or local law enforcement agencies may perform, at their own expense and under the supervision of ICE offiecers, certain functions of an immigration officer in relation to the investigation, apprehension, or detention of aliens in the United States.  However, the first agreement under the statute was not signed until 2002. 

What occured between these time periods is the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001.  Following that event, the government has increased its efforts to protect the nation from terrorism.  One of the means by which it has done this is calling upon law enforcement agencies to become increasingly involved in immigration enforcement.  However, this involvement has been very contentious in the law enforcement community and the debate has been further fueled by a nationwide focus on immigration reform.