Do you know what the 287(g) program is?

This week, the ACLU and 520 local and national organizations sent a letter to President Obama urging him to terminate the 287(g) program. The 287(g) program enlists state and local law enforcement agencies in enforcement of federal immigration law.

The letter reads:

“The program has come under severe criticism this year because local law enforcement agencies that have been granted 287(g) powers are using the program to target communities of color, including disproportionate numbers of Latinos in particular places, for arrest. Racial profiling and other civil rights abuses by the local law enforcement agencies that have sought out 287(g) powers have compromised public safety, while doing nothing to solve the immigration crisis.” 

President of the Mexican American Political Association, Nativo Lopez, told La Frontera Times that:

“Its with great sadness that we observe that the Obama administration continues to ignore that growing clamor from diverse sectors of the immigrant and Latino communities throughout the nation for an end to the enforcement-only policy that has wreaked havoc and destruction on our families and communities. The demand for an immediate moratorium of such a policy is more evident than ever especially considering the president’s comments about deferring immigration reform until 2010.” Lopez concluded. 

The immigration enforcement practices dictated by the 287(g) program do not constitute comprehensive immigration reform (CIR), and are a dangerous placeholder for CIR while Obama puts immigration on the backburner for other domestic issues, such as healthcare. We hope President Obama will strongly consider the termination of the 287(g) program.