States, locals swamp immigration program

[flashl]

States and cities that want to speed up deportations of criminals and suspects who are illegal immigrants by using a popular but controversial federal program face waiting up to three years to join the enforcement effort, because the federal government can’t keep up with the demand.

Political pressure for stricter policing of illegal immigration has propelled the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency’s 287(g) initiative from a little-noticed experiment two years ago to one of the hottest ideas for local and state officials to deal with immigration, as broader federal efforts languish.

Law enforcement ranks first as an issue in immigration-related legislation introduced on the state level as of March 2008, according to an April report of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

At the start of 2007, only eight police agencies took part in the 287(g) program; now a total of 47 police agencies in 17 states participate, with 90 more waiting to sign up. To date, more than 50,000 people have been deported or have been marked for deportation under the 287(g) program, according to ICE. More than half of those were processed since October.

StateLine

There is no greater motivator for increased law enforcement interest in a particular 'crime' than Federal dollars.