The Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) has filed a lawsuit against President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to learn why the agency halted the 287(g) program, which assists in the deportation of illegal alien child rapists, attempted murderers, assailants, carjackers, and others.
According to IRLI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers stated in August of last year that the government had suspended the 287(g) program in January 2021, after Biden entered office, with no reason.
The 287(g) program permits local law enforcement agencies to collaborate with ICE to identify criminal illegal immigrants and turn them over to federal officials for arrest and deportation.
IRLI filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to ICE in September 2023, requesting any internal correspondence surrounding the agency’s suspension of the 287(g) program. The federal government is expected to reply to FOIA requests within 20 business days, but ICE authorities had yet to react as of this week.
The complaint filed by IRLI aims to compel ICE authorities to make public internal correspondence explaining why the agency discontinued the 287(g) program.
“Increased cooperation between ICE and local law enforcement is critical and makes our communities safer, so of course this administration wants to limit that effort,” IRLI Executive Director Dale Wilcox said.
“There is no benefit to this country or its legal residents by keeping criminal aliens in the country, yet it appears to be a priority of this White House,” he added. “The American people own those emails, yet we are not allowed to see them because it might embarrass this administration and expose their extremist agenda.”
Before Biden’s DHS shut down the 287(g) program, 23 additional agreements between local law enforcement and ICE were slated to go into effect, but they were canceled. Currently, ICE has 287(g) relationships with almost 140 law enforcement organizations around the country.
“It is ironic that the Biden administration insists it is ‘the most transparent in history’ when, in reality, it has repeatedly attempted to change immigration laws without congressional authorization and then tried to hide the evidence of its misdeeds from the American public,” IRLI Director of Investigations Matt O’Brien said.
“IRLI hopes to bring the details of the ‘287(g) hold’ into the sunshine, even if it must fight to do so,” O’Brien continued.