New Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Center Opens to Train Local Law Enforcement
Published June 19, 2008

Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act allows State Law Enforcement agencies (such as a county sheriff’s office or a state highway patrol) to enter into an agreement with the U.S. attorney general which enables them to “perform a function of an immigration officer in relation to the investigation, apprehension or detention of aliens in the United States.” The 287(g) program is intended to target illegal immigrants involved in drug dealing, gangs and other criminal activities and in support of this program, ICE is celebrating the opening of a new training facility in Charleston, South Carolina. It should be noted that a state law enforcement agency is not automatically allowed to perform the functions of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, but must first be trained to do so and enter into the formal agreement. The program began in 2002. Until the past week, the training of local law enforcement agencies for the program (which involves instruction in immigration law, intercultural relations, and Department of Homeland Securities databases) has been conducted by a mobile training team. Now, ICE has opened a Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Advanced Training Site in Charleston, South Carolina. Officers from Virginia, Florida, Missouri, South Carolina, North Carolina, Colorado and Georgia law enforcement agencies comprise the first class to be trained in the new facility. No doubt, more states will be lining up to send officials to participate in training sessions at the new facility in the near future.