The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department will hold a steering committee meeting on Tuesday, November 30th, to discuss oversight of the Sheriff's 287(g) agreement with ICE, which deputizes members of Sheriff's department to act as ICE agents within the county jail. The meeting is open to the public and will start at 9:00 am at the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office.
287(g) agreements delegate certain immigration law enforcement responsibilities to local sheriff deputies within jails, such as interrogating people about their immigration status following their arrest on state or local charges, checking their information in the Department of Homeland Security databases, issuing detainers to hold people on civil immigration charges and issuing the charging document that initiates a deportation called a Notice to Appear.
When local law enforcement works with ICE, no one benefits. The 287(g) agreements and other ICE collaboration programs risk emboldening police to engage in racial profiling. Local police in 287(g) jurisdictions may make stops and arrests as a pretext for engaging in immigration enforcement. Local sheriffs who prioritize collaborating with ICE place a wedge between themselves and the immigrant members of their community. Victims and witnesses become fearful of reporting crimes or talking to law enforcement agents who view themselves as partners to immigration authorities.
These programs are also exceedingly costly. The federal government does not compensate local authorities for participating in these agreements other than travel expenses for training. Instead, precious local resources are used for what is a federal enforcement task.
We encourage those living in Waukesha County to show up at the meeting and speak out against this counterproductive agreement, which destabilizes immigrant communities, wastes taxpayer dollars, and doesn’t make us any safer.
If you wish to participate, please see the meeting details below.
Waukesha County 287(g) Agreement Steering Committee Meeting
Tuesday, November 30, 9:00 am
Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office
515 W. Moreland Boulevard, Waukesha, WI 53188
