Gwinnett County, Ga. (June 28, 2019) —The Gwinnett County African-American Caucus today announced that it stands with other Gwinnett immigrant communities and ‘vehemently’ opposes Gwinnett Sheriff Butch Conway’s extension of his office’s participation in the ICE program, 287(g), citing its potential for discriminatory practices. In May, the sheriff officially renewed the program for one year, more than a month ahead of when the current three-year term is scheduled to expire Sunday.
Section 287(g) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act is a federal program deputizing local law enforcement to act as U.S Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents enforcing federal immigration law. Acting ICE agents can check the immigration status of arrestees, issue detainer requests and transport individuals to ICE custody. Critics believe the screening process is a form of profiling.
The Gwinnett African American Caucus today released the following statement on the matter:
“The Gwinnett African American Caucus is disappointed Sheriff Conway has moved forth with renewing the 287(g) program here in Gwinnett County and vehemently condemns his actions. Contrary to Sheriff Conway’s claims, the Caucus contends that 287(g) is not an effective tool for reducing crime and it does not benefit Gwinnett County. Rather, it is a tool which encourages racial profiling by law enforcement officials, disrupts family units, and deters the reporting of crimes from law-abiding members of the immigrant community. Though Sheriff Conway contends his office is participating in prevention legislation in the name of public safety, historically, policies and laws such as this operate under a guise and come at the expense of vilifying vulnerable minority groups. We contend that Gwinnett County’s law enforcement officers could and should focus their time and efforts on violent offenders and authentic local public safety matters, not matters such as this that involve federal immigration affairs. Gwinnett County residents need full-time local law enforcement, not part-time acting federal agents. We implore all local public officials to speak out against the continuation of the costly 287(g) program in Gwinnett County. We do not believe 287(g) represents Gwinnett County or our evolving, diverse community. The Gwinnett African American Caucus stands with our immigrant communities in condemning this oppressive program.”
State and local agencies’ involvement in the program is voluntary. According to ICE records, Gwinnett is one of five Georgia counties that has volunteered to work with ICE to detain undocumented residents and transfer them to ICE custody and is one of two metro Atlanta counties participating in the program. Conway brought the program to Gwinnett in 2009. According to federal records, Gwinnett was responsible for over 20 percent of all ICE detainers nationwide in 2017.
The sheriff’s participation has not been without controversary and vocal local opposition. Locally and nationwide, opponents often point to court decisions in recent years that have ruled detaining undocumented immigrants based on ICE requests as unconstitutional and a violation of the Fourth Amendment because holding someone past their release date constitutes an arrest requiring probable cause, and a detainer does not provide probable cause.
The office’s renewal of 287(g) comes as President Trump decides on next steps for plans for ICE deportation raids that are set to resume in the coming weeks in major cities across the U.S., including Atlanta.
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Gwinnett African American Caucus 