|
WASHINGTON — 521 local and national
organizations signed a letter
delivered to President Obama on Aug. 25 demanding the
administration terminate the 287(g) program, which grants state and
local law enforcement agencies federal immigration enforcement
authority. The program, a legacy of the Bush administration, has caused
serious civil and human rights abuses, including racial profiling, and
endangers public safety.
“The Obama administration has responded
to documented violations within the 287(g) program by expanding it and
creating an illusory complaint process,” said Marielena Hincapié,
executive director of the National Immigration Law Center. “Ostracizing
potential victims of and witnesses to crime and providing them with a
disincentive to trust the authorities will make all our communities less
safe.”
Local organizations that signed
the letter will host vigils,
marches, and other activities across the country to voice their
discontent with the administration’s decision to expand the 287(g)
program despite evidence that it makes immigrant communities and the
general public more vulnerable and less safe. Since its inception, the
287(g) program has drawn sharp criticism from federal officials, law
enforcement, community groups, and press reports. They say that the
program has caused Latinos and other minority groups to be stopped or
arrested because of their appearance or accent, which has resulted in
the wrongful detention of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents.
The program has failed to meet the federal government’s own objectives
or priorities in immigration enforcement, and has interfered with local
law enforcement’s ability to implement sound community policing
practices designed to ensure public safety.
“The 287(g) program encourages civil
rights abuses and makes it more difficult for police to do their primary
job of fighting crime, endangering public safety for everyone,” said
Carlos Garcia, a Phoenix community organizer with the Macehualli day
labor center. “I hope President Obama, as a former community organizer,
will recognize that, in defense of their civil rights, immigrant
communities have organized around the country in opposition to this
failed experiment of the Bush administration.”
For more information about local
activities to protest the 287(g) program, please contact Sarahi Uribe at
202-285-9673.
###
|
