ICE announced today that it has standardized the 287(g) Memorandum of Agreements (“MOA”) it has with various state law enforcement offices around the country.  The 287(g) Agreements permit local law enforcement officials to help with immigration enforcement efforts.  In a nutshell, local police catch undocumented aliens for ICE.  Before 287(g) Agreements first came into being about ten years ago, local law enforcement officials were not in the immigration business.   It was a “catch and release” situation because state or municipal law enforcement officers had no authority or jurisdiction to deal with undocumented aliens.  Even if the police had in their custody a person who they knew to be undocumented, that person would nevertheless be set free if there were no criminal charges pending against him.  The creation of 287(b) Agreements changed all that.  Now, police officers or deputy sheriffs may detain a person who is suspected of being an undocumented alien until that person is cleared or picked up by ICE.   This type of cooperation has been successful, as ICE revealed that it has removed over 24,000 aliens through this program.  I tend to think that ICE is being conservative in its numbers because in my experience, the majority of undocumented aliens who are in ICE custody were not picked by ICE officials, but by local law enforcement during a routine traffic stop.   

ICE published a list of jurisdictions who have signed 287(g) agreements with ICE, or who have Agreements pending.  Anyone who is out of status or has no status should refrain from driving in these jurisdictions because any traffic stop, even for something as minor as a broken tail light, could lead to a one way trip to an ICE detention facility.  Keep in mind that the list is not inclusive, as more and more jurisdictions are expected to sign 287(g) Agreements with ICE in the future.  What once was a pilot program has now become common.  No doubt 287(g) Agreements are here to stay and will even be enhanced in the future. 

• (AL) Etowah County Sheriff’s Office
• Alabama Department of Public Safety
• (AZ) Pima County Sheriff’s Office
• (AZ) Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office
• (AZ) Department of Corrections
• (AZ) Department of Public Safety
• (AZ) City of Mesa Police Department
• (AZ) City of Phoenix Police Department
• (AZ) Florence Police Department
• (AZ) Pinal County Sheriff’s Office
• (AZ) Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office
• (AR) Benton County Sheriff’s Office
• (AR) Rogers Police Department
• (AR) Washington County Sheriff’s Office
• (AR) City of Springdale Police Department
• (CA) Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office
• (CA) Orange County Sheriff’s Office
• (CA) Riverside County Sheriff’s Office
• (CA) San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office
• Colorado Department of Public Safety
• (CO) El Paso County Sheriff’s Office
• (CT) City of Danbury Police Department
• Delaware Department of Corrections
• (FL) Bay County Sheriff’s Office
• (FL) Collier County Sheriff’s Office
• (FL) Department of Law Enforcement
• (FL) Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office
• Georgia Department of Public Safety
• (GA) Hall County Sheriff’s Office
• (GA) Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office
• (GA) Cobb County Sheriff’s Office
• (GA) Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office
• (MD) Frederick County Sheriff’s Office
• Massachusetts Department of Corrections
• Minnesota Department of Public Safety
• Missouri State Highway Patrol
• (NV) Las Vegas Metropolitan PD
• (NH) Hudson City Police Department
• (NJ) Hudson County Department of Corrections
• (NJ) Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office
• (NJ) Morristown Police Department
• Minnesota Department of Corrections
• (NC) Durham Police Department
• (NC) Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office
• (NC) Gaston County Sheriff’s Office
• (NC) Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office
• (NC) Wake County Sheriff’s Office
• (NC) Alamance County Sheriff’s Office
• (NC) Henderson County Sheriff’s Office
• (NC) Guilford County Sheriff’s Office
• (OH) Butler County Sheriff’s Office
• (OK) Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office
• Rhode Island State Police
• Rhode Island Department of Corrections
• (SC) Charleston County Sheriff’s Office
• (SC) Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office
• (SC) York County Sheriff’s Office
• Tennessee Highway Patrol/Department of Public Safety
• (TN) Davidson County Sheriff’s Office
• (TX) Harris County Sheriff’s Office
• (TX) Carrollton Police Department
• (TX) Farmers Branch Police Dept.
• (UT) Washington County Sheriff Office
• (UT) Weber County Sheriff’s Office
• (VA) Herndon Police Department
• (VA) Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office
• (VA) Manassas Police Department
• (VA) Manassas Park Police Department
• (VA) Prince William County Police Department
• (VA) Prince William County Sheriff’s Office
• (VA) Prince William-Manassas Adult Detention Center
• (VA) Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office
• (VA) Shenandoah County Sheriff’s Office