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ImmigrationProf Blog
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The Policies and Politics of Local Immigration Enforcement Law in North Carolina

By immigrationprof

Weissmandeborahm The University of North Carolina Immigration/Human Rights Policy Clinic (with Professor Deborah Weissman as Director of Clinical Prgrams) and the ACLU in North Carolina Legal Foundation has released its report on the 287(g) Program in North Carolina titled “The Policies and Politics of Local Immigration Enforcement Law.” This report, the first to present a comprehensive legal and policy evaluation of the 287(g) program in North Carolina, represents a valuable collaboration between advocates and academia in a state at the forefront of immigration collaborations between the federal government and local law enforcement. Here are lionks to the reports and executive summary.

Here is a quick summary or the report’s findings:

“The 287(g) program was originally intended to target and remove undocumented immigrants convicted of `violent crimes, human smuggling, gang/organized crime activity, sexual-related offenses, narcotics smuggling and money laundering.’ However, [memoranda of argeements] are in actuality being used to purge towns and cities of “unwelcome” immigrants and thereby having detrimental effects on North Carolina’s communities. Such effects include:

• The marginalization of an already vulnerable population, as 287(g) encourages, or at the very least tolerates, racial profiling and baseless stereotyping, resulting in the harassment of citizens and isolation of the Hispanic community.

• A fear of law enforcement that causes immigrant communities to refrain from reporting crimes, thereby compromising public safety for immigrants and citizens alike.

• Economic devastation for already struggling municipalities, as immigrants are forced to flee communities, causing a loss of profits for local businesses and a decrease in tax revenues.

• Violations of basic American liberties and legal protections that threaten to diminish the civil rights of citizens and ease the way for future encroachments into basic fundamental freedoms.”

KJ