Rogers solidifies 287(g) agreement
Posted on Thursday, September 27, 2007
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/53983/
ROGERS — Six Rogers police officers will begin using their specialized immigration training after the city finalized a memorandum of agreement with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday night.
Mayor Steve Womack announced Wednesday that he had signed the document, which outlines the “ rules of engagement” for the Rogers officers who’ve been trained in 287 (g ) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
“ There is little debate as to the problems associated with illegal immigration, ” Womack said. “ The city of Rogers is proud to lead this state in this initiative. We are confident other lawenforcement agencies will follow. ”
The training and ICE computer equipment installed at the Rogers Police Department will allow officers to access the ICE database to check the status of people they detain for criminal activities by verifying their fingerprints, then detaining them on behalf of ICE if they are determined to be illegal immigrants.
Police Chief Steve Helms said officers already have started utilizing their training under the supervision of ICE officers.
The Rogers and Springdale police departments and the Benton and Washington county sheriff’s offices graduated 19 law-enforcement officers from training in 287 (g ) enforcement in Boston last month, but the agencies still awaited a memorandum of agreement to solidify and detail the group’s cooperative relationship with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement before initiating the program. Washington County had also signed an MOA on Wednesday, and Temple Black, public affairs officer for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, said he expects other agencies to finalize their agreements this week. Regional enforcement
As a stipulation of the MOA, Rogers will participate in a regional immigration task force in cooperation with the other lawenforcement agencies involved in the agreement. Womack said the task force would help to resolve the expected “ displacement effect, ” which suggests that illegal immigrants will move to neighboring cities to avoid the increased level of enforcement.
“ Enforcement duty in one location and not in others might cause some problems, ” he said.
Rogers will use a field model of enforcement, which will allow officers to check the legal status of suspected illegal immigrants in routine law-enforcement investigations. Other agencies plan to investigate only after suspected illegal immigrants are detained. Womack said the task force would not stop Rogers from using its unique level of enforcement.
The city became interested in the training after a Rogers police officer was shot in a struggle with an illegal immigrant after serving a no-knock warrant at a home in 2006. Womack and City Attorney Ben Lipscomb explored possible ways of tightening immigration enforcement in the city, first proposing a rule modeled after a Hazleton, Pa., ordinance in which employers and landlords would be fined for harboring illegal aliens.
Rogers later settled on the police program, and other cities followed. Fort Smith Police Chief Kevin Lindsey said Tuesday he plans to seek the designation for his department. Several other Arkansas agencies, including the State Police, have expressed interest in the program. Black said he couldn’t determine how long it would take for departments to reach agreements. The ICE office has received a growing stream of requests as 287 (g ) has grown in public awareness. Hispanic concerns
Some Hispanic representatives are concerned that the training may result in a potential for racial profiling and a growing sense of fear and distrust in the Hispanic community.
“ My opinion of this is that the federal law belongs to the federal government, and the local police shouldn’t be enforcing them, ” said Margarita Solorzano, leader of the Hispanic Women’s Organization and director of the Arkansas Citizenship Coalition. “ They are jeopardizing the safety of the community. I believe a lot of crime may go unreported because we don’t know if the police are going to be more concerned about the status of the person or the crime committed. ”
Womack and Helms recently met with Andres Chao, Mexican consul to Arkansas, to discuss the concerns of his constituents. Chao agreed to help inform Hispanic residents about how the program will function.
The Police Department has also been criticized in the past for its practices toward the Hispanic community. The department settled a 2003 lawsuit filed by a group of Hispanic motorists who accused the department of racial profiling. Under the settlement, residents who suspect racial profiling can report complaints anonymously to the department’s crime tip line at 986-3699.
Helms said the MOA sets out strict guidelines to prevent improper use of the program. The six officers will be under supervision of an ICE agent based in Fort Smith. The document outlines a system for dealing with and monitoring complaints. Police will not go on “ immigration raids”; they will incorporate the training into their regular criminal investigations. Officers who received the training have all been with the department for at least four years and are involved in specialized areas such as narcotics investigations and the Crime Suppression Unit, which investigates gang-related activity.
Residents with information related to criminal activity specific to immigration issues can call a special immigration-issues tip line at 986-3611.
“ You will not see a unit on the street, going door-to-door, business-to-business, ” Helms said, adding that he plans to do community outreach, including making presentations to Hispanic organizations to clarify what the agreement involves. Continued training
Local training will continue as officers begin the program. Helms said the effects of 287 (g ) may not be fully demonstrated until the department fills a staffing shortage. Rogers Police currently have 10 officer openings, with three new hires in basic training.
Womack would like to send Rogers officers to the border at Las Cruces, N. M., for a 48-hour “ right-seat, left-seat ride” with border patrol officials.
When Womack shadowed the officers as part of his National Guard training last fall, he discovered that northwest Arkansas is a “ known destination area for many people crossing (the border ), ” he said.
City leaders, including Womack, Helms and Lipscomb, could not define exactly how the enforcement would affect the community, but the group pledged honesty and communication as the training goes into effect.
“ Law enforcement has a tool available to it now, and we are going to use that tool to the best of our ability, ” Womack said.