FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 3, 2012. Charleston, SC – The American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina has sent a letter to Senator Lindsey Graham and Representative Jim Clyburn asking them to call on the Department of Homeland Security to end the 287(g) program, which delegates federal immigration authority to state and local law enforcement agencies nationwide. The controversial program has been critiqued by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general, the Government Accountability Office and the Migration Policy Institute, as well as civil rights groups, for promoting racial profiling of Latinos. Nearly all of the 287(g) agreements are set to expire on or around December 31, 2012 unless renewed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The 287(g) program, which is in effect in Beaufort, Charleston, Lexington, and York Counties in South Carolina, has been used to target Latinos for traffic stops, to arrest Latinos for minor traffic violations and to establish checkpoints near Latino neighborhoods.
According to Victoria Middleton, Executive Director of the ACLU of South Carolina, “In addition to racial profiling, the program undermines community trust in the police and harms public safety, while it diverts scarce law enforcement resources.”
The ACLU of South Carolina joined faith groups, immigrant rights advocates, and other civil rights organizations in asking Senator Lindsey Graham and Representative Jim Clyburn to urge the Department of Homeland Security to terminate the 287(g) program in South Carolina.
And more information on 287(g) programs here: http://www.aclu.org/files/assets/terminate_287g_sign_on_final_sept_26_1.pdf