DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano took a swipe at her erstwhile rival, the popular Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, by unceremoniously yanking his investigative 287(g) program late last week. Since previous audits found no serious problems, DHS seems to be throwing a bone to the many ethnic and civil liberties groups who resent Arpaio’s unapologetic attention to addressing the crime problems resulting from illegal immigration, and who are constantly clamoring for the program to be ended entirely. To their dismay, DHS definitely wants to keep Arpaio’s jail removal program, which has so far identified more than 18,000 criminal aliens, and dozens of other 287(g) programs remain intact around the country. Representatives of these programs report that it’s still “business as usual” in their jurisdictions. You can find out what that means, and how the 287(g) program enhances public safety while reducing criminal justice costs by viewing the first installment in a series of “webinars” on 287(g), produced by LEAPS.TV, and hosted by the Center.

Some excerpts:

• Harris County, Texas, placed more than 10,000 immigration detainers on criminal aliens in less than one year, with only eight local officers. Lt. Michael Lindsay describes how with in-house access to ICE databases, they have been able to identify offenders who come through the jail who would not otherwise be flagged as serious offenders, including illegal aliens wanted for murder in Mexico, and Zeta gang members wanted in local criminal investigations.
• Whitfield County, Ga., is a smaller county jail system that has successfully implemented the program without adding additional jail staff. Lt. Wes Lynch tells how they have significantly reduced the number of repeat offenders cycling through the jail, saving the county taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars on lifetime correctional costs for these recidivists, not to mention preventing future crimes and sparing future victims.
• Collier County, Fla., has a jail program and an investigative program. Commander Mike Williams describes how the 287(g) authority enabled the unit to nab a suspect in the murder of a child who was arrested on immigration violations (false ID) just before fleeing the state to evade charges. The aliens they arrest and remove under their 287(g) investigative program have long rap sheets and average 11 prior arrests apiece.
• The 287(g) programs in these jurisdictions have produced no complaints of racial profiling or abuse of authority. There has been no “chilling effect” on the agencies’ relationships with immigrants in their communities; on the contrary, immigrants continue to report crimes and often feel even more comfortable dealing with law enforcement as a result.

At the urging of key Democratic lawmakers, DHS is in the process of trying to re-negotiate all the 287(g) programs to try to bring them more into line with the administration’s minimalist immigration enforcement priorities. It also appears that ICE is weeding out a few of the more ineffective 287(g) programs, such as in Framingham, Mass., where the police department seemed fearful of actually arresting any illegal aliens it discovered. While many of the local law enforcement partners have some concerns about certain new rules DHS has proposed, most report that their programs will not be seriously affected and that they can carry on with the removal of criminal aliens. The benefits and challenges of the 287(g) program will be further explored in a forthcoming CIS Backgrounder, which includes statistics from all 287(g) agencies.