The report, conducted in 2009, found terms of some of the 66 such programs across the nation were not being followed, that ICE had not provided adequate guidance and oversight of local police for the program, and that data collection to address civil rights concerns had yet to be established -- concerns immigrant advocates have been voicing for years.
The Frederick County Sheriff's Office has taken part in the program since 2008, and is one of 11 agencies nationwide that has officers trained to participate in both the jail and task force model of 287(g).
The jail model allows trained officers to check the immigration status of those arrested on state and local charges and taken to jail. The task force model allows trained officers to enforce federal immigration laws in the field in the course of their duties.
Since its inception in the county, the 26 trained 287(g) officers have put immigration detainers on more than 600 people, said Frederick County Sheriff's Office Capt. Tim Clarke.
The sheriff's office was not among the seven agencies reviewed in the report.
The report also criticized what it called inadequate and inconsistent training of 287(g) officers, and found that ICE has not prioritized resources toward the stated focus of the program: to deport criminals who are in the U.S. illegally and pose a threat to public safety or are a danger to the community.
"With no specific target levels for arrest, detention, and removal priority levels, and with performance measures that do not account for all investigative work and criminal prosecutions, ICE cannot be assured that the 287(g) program is meeting its intended purpose, or that resources are being appropriately targeted toward aliens who pose the greatest risk to public safety and the community," the report states....
