Rogers' Statement on Standardizing the 287(g) Program

Press Release

Rogers' Statement on Standardizing the 287(g) Program

U.S. Congressman Harold "Hal" Rogers released the following statement today regarding the Department of Homeland Security's announcement on standardizing the 287(g) program :

"Today's 287 (g) announcement by DHS is a stark departure from current practice and I fear will only hinder our law enforcement agencies' ability to apprehend and detain illegal aliens. The current 287(g) program enables State and local law enforcement to effectively enforce federal immigration law and is key to keeping our country safe. These agreements have addressed weaknesses in our immigration system and are proven to be effective as is. "Standardizing" 287(g) agreements and limiting apprehension activities to only "criminal aliens" is shortsighted and prevents local law enforcement from following a tried and true system that prevents illegal activities specific to their region of the country. This is the last thing we need to do to the men and women who work everyday to protect us.

As I've said many times before, identifying and removing criminal aliens is only one of many priorities for immigration enforcement. We must never forget that none of the 9/11 highjackers could have been classified as so-called ‘criminal aliens' and every single 9/11 terrorist exploited the legal immigration system. We must recognize that threats to our national security can't neatly be placed into one cookie-cutter category- vigilance at the local level is key to preventing future attacks."

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