FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
LOUISVILLE, KY – Twenty immigrant justice, civil rights, criminal justice, and worker’s rights groups sent a letter today urging Department of Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to end Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) collaboration programs, including the 287(g) program, Secure Communities and ICE detainers.
Today’s announcement by grassroots organizations follows a letter from 125 law enforcement leaders urging Secretary Mayorkas to end partnership agreements with ICE.
Naureen Shah, senior advocacy and policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, issued the following statement:
“More and more Americans from across the political spectrum are urging the Biden administration to end ICE collaboration programs for a simple and important reason: these programs make everyone less safe. The time is now for the Biden administration to end these harmful entanglements once and for all.”
“The abuses cited in this letter are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the harms we’ve documented as a result of ICE collaboration programs,” said Kate Miller, advocacy director for the ACLU of Kentucky. “Every day these programs continue is another day that communities of color are subjected to racial profiling and harassment, while public safety is compromised. Enough is enough. The time is now for Secretary Mayorkas and the Biden administration to get local police out of the immigration enforcement business once and for all.”
During his presidential campaign, President Biden pledged to “[e]nd the Trump administration’s historic use of 287(g) agreements” because they “undermine trust and cooperation between local law enforcement and the communities they are charged to protect.”
Scroll down to view a copy of the letter.
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