The Collier County Sheriff’s Office will continue to enforce federal immigration laws, under a renewed partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
CCSO is one of 67 state and local law enforcement agencies that have signed standardized memorandums of agreement (MOAs) to participate in 287(g) partnerships.
ICE announced the partnerships in an Oct. 16 news release.
According to the ICE release, the partnerships conform to the standardized 287(g) MOA announced by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Assistant Secretary for ICE John Morton in July – strengthening ICE’s overall immigration enforcement strategy by aligning local operations with ICE’s major priorities, specifically the identification and removal of criminal aliens.
The standardized guidelines largely reflect those already in place in Collier County’s 287(g) program, bringing the rest of the nation’s programs into compliance with the rules and guidelines under which Collier County operates.
Since CCSO began its partnership with ICE on Sept. 27, 2007, more than 2,000 foreign-born criminal aliens, most with extensive criminal histories, have been detained.
“The 287(g) program acts as a force multiplier, training officers from local jurisdictions to carry out smart, effective immigration enforcement efforts aligned with ICE priorities,’’ the ICE release states. “Throughout the country, 1,075 local officers have been trained through 287(g) – bolstering national immigration enforcement efforts and saving hundreds of millions of dollars.
