The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office today announced it plans to end its 287(g) agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That contract delegates certain federal immigration enforcement authorities to county employees, deputizing them to act as immigration agents.
Laura Rótolo, staff counsel and community advocate at the ACLU of Massachusetts, today released the following statement in response:
“Detained immigrants, their families, and communities have fought for over a decade to end the 287(g) program because it entangles state and local agencies with federal immigration enforcement. We are glad to see the Plymouth County contract end, and we call on the two remaining entities in Massachusetts that have such contracts—Barnstable County and the Department of Corrections—to end theirs and on lawmakers to do all they can to ensure other local officers throughout the state cannot work as de facto ICE agents.”
Background:
The ACLU has long advocated for the end of 287(g) programs nationwide because they are wasteful and harmful to communities. Massachusetts is the only state in New England to have 287(g) contracts. Under such contracts, state and county staff are deputized to act as immigration agents, but are not reimbursed for that work by the federal government. In May 2021, the Department of Homeland Security announced it cut ties with the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office, including ending its 287(g) contract.
The ACLU of Massachusetts supports local legislation to further end local collaboration with federal deportation efforts.
For more information about the ACLU of Massachusetts, go to: http://www.aclum.org
