Six Georgia counties have recently signed 287(g) agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) today, bringing the total number of agreements to 66.
A 287(g) agreement allows local police in those jurisdictions to be trained to enforce federal immigration laws. This training provides state and local police with additional tools they can use to prosecute crimes committed by aliens, especially gang violence and document fraud, while reducing the impact of illegal immigration on local communities.
Gwinnett County had more 287(g) encounters than any other jurisdiction nationwide in 2017, accounting for 20% of all deportations that resulted from the program. ICE deported almost 6,000 illegal aliens that same year, through the program, with 653 of those deportations from Gwinnett County alone.
"If you're in a country illegally, the least you can do is obey that country's laws," said Butch Conway, Gwinnett County sheriff.
There are currently 78 local law enforcement agencies participating in the 287(g) program in 20 states across the country.
"Under the Trump administration, right now we're going by all law, immigration laws," a deputy said. "So you come in for jaywalking, we find out that you're illegal, we hand you over to ICE. We work for ICE. We do not deport anybody."
The counties’ decision to join the program comes after 18 counties in Texas signed 287(g) agreements last August.
For more on this story, see CBS News.
