INS and Florida Enter MOU to Allow State Officers to Enforce Immigration Law

IMMIGRATION LAW & POLICY

Arrest and Detention

INS AND FLORIDA ENTER MOU TO ALLOW STATE OFFICERS TO ENFORCE IMMIGRATION LAW
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 16, No. 5, September 10, 2002

The Immigration and Naturalization Service and the state of Florida have reached an agreement under which 35 Florida state and local law enforcement officers may enforce immigration law under INS supervision.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) laying out the agreement, which was finalized June 13, 2002, specifies that operations conducted jointly by the INS and the state will be limited to missions involving Florida's Regional Domestic Security Task Force. The agreement, however, fails to clearly delineate what such operations might entail. The MOU does set forth the scope of the parties' respective rights and liabilities, including responsibility for supervision and costs. It also identifies the types of functions the officers may undertake, and it creates a procedure whereby people who are affected by the officers' activities can file complaints, as well as a process for evaluating the pilot program the MOU creates. The MOU is effective until Sept. 2003.

Though Congress first authorized such joint agreements in 1996 via a provision of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), this agreement between the INS and Florida is the first of its kind in the nation. The IIRIRA provision, codified as section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, allows the U.S. attorney general to enter into written agreements with any state or political subdivision to permit the state or locality's officers to perform immigration functions. A few other states, including South Carolina, have indicated they are also interested in entering such agreements.

Under the INS-Florida MOU, certain specially trained state and local officers may interrogate persons regarding their rights to be and remain in the United States. If such an officer has reason to believe that a person is in the U.S. in violation of the law and is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained, the officer has the same authority that the INA grants INS officers to arrest such a person without a warrant. Other activities permitted to Florida officers under the agreement include administering oaths, transporting noncitizens, and assisting in pre-and post-arrest processing. However, Florida officers may engage in such activities only when they are taking part in a security or counter-terrorism operation supervised by INS officers.

The agreement also details criteria for selecting the officers to be specially trained and the components of their required training. In order to participate in the pilot program, officers must be U.S. citizens, have three years of law enforcement experience, and have obtained an associate degree. The training curriculum will include a review of the MOU and instruction in what immigration-related law enforcement functions the officers are authorized to engage in, as well as in cross-cultural awareness, the use of force, civil rights laws, and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Officers who successfully complete the training course and pass a competency exam will receive an INS certification allowing them to participate in the pilot program for a year from the date of the certification. Costs for the pilot program, including all salaries, overtime pay, and training costs, are borne by the state.

The agreement also provides for a complaint procedure. Aggrieved individuals may lodge complaints by calling an office of the state of Florida at 954-535-2859, or a hotline number, 1-800-869-4499, or the INS at 202-514-5765, or by sending the INS a fax at 202-514-7244. The MOU states that complaints will be processed by both INS and state officials and that it is expected that complaints will be resolved within 90 days.

Finally, the MOU requires periodic assessments of the pilot program as well as a full evaluation to be concluded within 9 months of the time officers are certified. All complaints, reports, press coverage, and community interaction must be included in the evaluation.

MOU signed by Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft, INS Comm.James Ziglar, June 11, 2002; and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Dept. of Law Enforcement Comm. James T. Moore, June 13, 2002.