Senator Barbara Boxer,
I am outraged that President Obama is so desperate to curry the favor of certain ethnic interest groups that he is willing to cut funding to the 287(g) program. I urge you to make sure that this particularly obscene element of his FY2013 budget does not make its way through Congress.
Let me give you some more information before you consider acceding to President Obama’s 287(g)-emasculating wishes:
— 287(g) provides a significant boost to ICE’s ability to identify and remove aliens who have committed crimes. In 2008, the number of 287(g) arrests (45,368) was equal to one-fifth of all criminal aliens identified by ICE in prisons and jails nationwide (221,085); and
— 287(g) is cost-effective and much less expensive than other criminal alien identification programs such as Secure Communities and Fugitive Operations. For example, in 2008 ICE spent $219 million to remove 34,000 fugitive aliens (who are mostly criminals). In 2008, ICE was given $40 million for 287(g), which produced more than 45,000 arrests of aliens who were involved in state and local crimes.
Why would anyone want to defund a program that is clearly at the top of its field? 287(g) is the best program in ICE’s arsenal and is far more cost-effective than Secure Communities. The only reasons for wanting to destroy the program are political, and it seems that Mr. Obama would rather make friends among ethnic special interest groups than among American voters who value security and the rule of law before the November election.
I hope you will consider these facts when talking to your colleagues about the 287(g) program. I’m sure they’ll be useful when you are asking them to help save the program.
Phone me if you would like to talk about this,
Greg Raven
