ACLU of Minnesota Pushes to End 287(g) Agreements with HF 3413, New Report, Community Organizing

ST. PAUL – The ACLU of Minnesota is using multiple venues to push for the end of 287(g) agreements in Minnesota. For months, community members across the state have worked with the ACLU-MN to oppose 287(g) agreements in their communities. Today, the ACLU-MN calls for the Minnesota Legislature to act and pass legislation that would end all 287(g) agreements in Minnesota.

The 287(g) program offers partnership between ICE and state and local agencies and attempts to turn local officials into ICE agents. These agreements purport to authorize select state and local law enforcement officers to identify, arrest, and process certain people for immigration enforcement and – ultimately – deportation.

Rep. Athena Hollins is the chief author of HF 3413. If passed, this bill would prohibit Minnesota municipalities and individuals from entering into a 287(g) agreement. It would also terminate any and all existing agreements within the state of Minnesota.

"These 287(g) agreements are harmful to our communities,” said Rep. Athena Hollins. “The deputization of local law enforcement for immigration activities erodes public trust, diverts resources from public safety needs, and opens local governments to serious liability by collaborating in the federal government's lawless campaign against our immigrant communities. It is time that we prohibited these agreements in Minnesota."

For years, the ACLU has highlighted the dangers of 287(g) agreements. But the push to end this program is more urgent now than ever due to findings in a new report by the ACLU. The report, “Deputized for Disaster,” found that the Trump administration is drastically expanding the federal 287(g) program to transform state and local law enforcement into a national deportation policing force — fueling racial profiling, civil rights violations, and widespread fear in communities across the country.

“ICE is enlisting thousands of state and local police to assist in operations that endanger citizens and noncitizens alike, draining local police resources and driving public fear that any interaction with local law enforcement could lead to violence and abuse,” said Naureen Shah, Director of Policy and Government Affairs for Immigration at the ACLU and author of the report. “It has never been more dangerous to join ICE’s 287(g) program, both for the communities that fall into ICE’s grip by taking part, and the local law enforcement agencies that risk lawsuits and an enormous loss of public trust. The harms outlined here should serve as a warning to state and local elected officials contemplating joining this dangerous program.”

Much of the reporting in “Deputized for Disaster” is not a surprise to Minnesota organizers, who have seen the impacts of 287(g) agreements in their communities.

"287(g) agreements erode public trust in both law enforcement and local government and put lives at risk,” said Hallie Pond, an activist who is working to end 287(g) agreements in Crow Wing and Cass counties. “Hundreds of Brainerd Lakes Area neighbors stood in the freezing cold for a vigil in January. We stood in solidarity for those wrongfully detained inside the jail to say compassion must guide policy, not the promise of profits at the expense of anyone’s dignity.”