Does participation in a 287(g) agreement empower municipal law enforcement officers to aggressively investigate persons who are not otherwise engaged in criminal activity?
A. No. Officers still are required to adhere to existing standards of reasonable suspicion and reasonable cause as well as the restrictions of the agreement itself. Attempts to enforce immigration law because a person “looks” illegal could be considered racial profiling, defined as “law enforcement-initiated action based on an individual’s race, ethnicity or national origin rather than on the individual’s behavior or on information identifying the individual as having engaged in criminal activity.” Racial profiling is strictly prohibited by state and federal law, and also by Lewisville Police Department policy. Law enforcement officers must have reasonable suspicion of criminal activity in order to detain anyone, and field immigration enforcement not based on a criminal investigation would be potentially illegal. That does not change with 287(g) status. In addition, 287(g) does not allow a city to perform “area enforcement” of arrests based strictly on immigration status.
Related Questions
- Does participation in a 287(g) agreement empower municipal law enforcement officers to aggressively investigate persons who are not otherwise engaged in criminal activity?
- Does participation in the 2002 Master Agreement Protocol have any effect on 1992 ISDA Master Agreements?
- What is a Participation Agreement?
