State and local police officers who enforce federal immigration laws are not adequately screened, trained, or supervised, and the civil rights of the immigrants they deal with are not consistently protected, says a Department of Homeland Security inspector general’s report quoted by the New York Times. Through agreements with 60 county and state police forces, the program allows local officers to question immigrants about their legal status and detain them for deportation.
The inspector general calls the program haphazardly administered, with local agencies detaining and prosecuting immigrants with little oversight from federal agents and significant inconsistencies from place to place. “In the absence of consistent supervision over immigration enforcement activities,” the report said, “there is no assurance that the program is achieving its goals.” Based on the report, several immigrant advocate groups called for the termination of the program, which is known as 287(g), after the clause in immigration law that established it.