by Matt Saldaña
July 22, 2009
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is changing its controversial 287(g) program to encourage local law enforcement agencies, including those in Durham and Wake counties, to focus their energies on processing "criminal illegal aliens" for deportation, not those accused of petty crimes. However, the federal directive stops short of guaranteeing such deportations won't happen.
The 287(g) program—and a separate initiative, Secure Communities, which faces similar questions about its transparency and purpose—was the subject of a Spanish-language forum in Durham last week. While Durham Police Chief José Lopez calmed some immigrant advocates' fears about the department's enforcement of 287 (g), Durham Sheriff's Deputy Major Paul Martin could not answer basic questions about his office's involvement in federal programs.
[View the entire article at the Independent Weekly.]