Frackville became one of the latest Schuylkill County police departments to join the Immigration and Customs Enforcement 287(g) program.
The 287(g) program grants participating police units the ability to perform some duties of immigration officers under ICE’s watch. It offers three options or operating models to local law enforcement agencies. Frackville, like all others who’ve already joined in Schuylkill County, plans to operate under the program’s Task Force Model.
Under the Task Force Model, local police can perform limited duties of an immigration officer while they’re performing routine duties. For instance, if they suspect or learn that someone they encounter is suspected of being in the United States illegally, they can be arrested on that suspicion. According to information provided by ICE, the Task Force Model also allows “officers to identify and report suspected illegal aliens not charged with crimes (under ICE oversight).
Local police can also be asked to join ICE on one of its task forces, the agency says.
Police departments must sign a memorandum of agreement with ICE before being accepted into the 287(g) program. Once that happens, ICE says it will pay local departments $7,500 to equip trained officers. It will also pay up to $100,000 for the purchase of a new patrol vehicle. Salary and benefits are also reimbursed for trained officers as well as up to 25% of an officer’s salary in overtime pay.
In Schuylkill County, there are currently four law enforcement agencies enrolled in the program: Mahanoy City, Mahanoy Township, Shenandoah, and Schuylkill County Sheriff’s Dept.
In the last week, in addition to Frackville, Orwigsburg also signed on. Pine Grove, however, did not vote to join it on Thursday. Someone from Pine Grove was not immediately available for comment.
At Frackville’s meeting of Borough Council last Thursday, it was a 6-1 vote to join 287(g). The lone dissenting vote was that of Councilman Charlie Berger. In comments to Coal Region Canary, Berger was critical of ICE in general and said he didn’t want the Borough’s police force involved.
“(ICE) is being run like a gestapo organization,” Berger said. “I’m not in favor of the detention center in Tremont Township or affiliation with the ICE program. I don’t want to put our police officers in any way where they could be held liable in the future for actions taken by the ICE officers.”
Countering that is Councilman Brian Russell who told The Canary, “I’m all for what the program does. This program makes our communities safer with our local law enforcement officers that the residents hopefully trust versus outside agencies coming in.”
Russell said he has “zero problems” with immigration to the United States and other cultures.
“What I want most is for all American citizens to be safe. I have daughters and now, grandchildren. I want them to be safe and if supporting this type programs helps that I’m all on board,” Russell added. “We all need to stop arguing over this subject and support the DOJ. they like ever other law enforcement entities are doing a thankless job no one else wants to do, they deal with the worst of the worst so the rest of us can sleep soundly at night.”
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