ICE and Florida jointly arrest 780 undocumented immigrants

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and several departments in Florida jointly enforced the law and arrested 780 undocumented immigrants in just four days. The authorities said that some of them were involved in murder or gang activities and were even wanted by Interpol. This action will help improve community safety. According to reports from Fox News and ABC, ICE said that for the first time in its history, the department has invoked the “287(g) Agreement” to jointly enforce the law with state and local forces. Among the hundreds of people arrested, there is an immigrant who was convicted of murder in Colombia; several suspected members of gangs such as “MS-13”; a Russian who was issued a red warrant by Interpol; and a Honduran man who was suspected of terrorist crimes and entered the country illegally many times. Acting Director Todd Lyons described that state police, county sheriffs and local police officers are familiar with the local environment, and the federal “whole-government participation” law enforcement can maintain community order. The authorities said that similar operations will be carried out in many states across the country in the future to continue to implement President Trump’s immigration policies. The “287(g) Agreement” comes from the Immigration and Nationality Act. According to the provisions, the Department of Homeland Security can cooperate with state, county or local law enforcement agencies to allow personnel at all levels to share certain federal responsibilities, such as questioning immigrant status; using federal databases to check people’s backgrounds; issuing arrest warrants and detaining people; transferring undocumented immigrants to the federal government, etc. ICE will provide a variety of support, such as training local law enforcement officers, paying certain expenses on their behalf, etc. Since US President Trump took office at the end of January, the number of local departments that have signed the agreement has increased significantly. Currently, there are 135 law enforcement agencies in 21 states participating in the plan.