US immigration rights advocates rallied on Tuesday outside a national gathering of sheriffs to protest local law enforcement’sincreasing cooperationwith federal immigration authorities under Donald Trump’sdeportation agenda.
A group of activists protested outside the National Sheriffs’ Association annual conference, where sheriffs came from across the US to meet at the Broward county convention center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with protesters calling on attendees to prioritize local community safety over assisting withfederal immigration enforcement. Around 30 activists represented a coalition that included the Florida Immigrant Coalition, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the National Council of Jewish Women, and the campaign group Sheriff Accountability Action.
The groups presented alettersigned by more than 12,000 people urging sheriffs across the country to withdraw fromcontroversial 287(g) agreements. Such agreements facilitate local law enforcement collaborating directly with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), the federal agency within the Department of Homeland Security, including deputizing county and local officers to act as federal immigration officers.
InFlorida, every county sheriff’s department in the state has entered into some form of 287(g) agreement. Some California cities such as Hollywood and West Palm Beach, as well as others, are also participating.
Broward county sheriff Gregory Tony had drawn criticism from other state officials after publicly stating that immigration enforcement was not a priority for his department and that he would not participate in federal immigration raids,according tothe South Florida Sun Sentinel. Tony subsequently received a warning letter from Florida’s attorney general, James Uthmeier.
“These entities that are supposedly in charge of protecting and serving us are now being pitted against us by our state policies,” Ana Maria Hernandez, an organizer with the Florida Immigrant Coalition, told the Sun Sentinel. “Our elected officials support 287(g) agreements in the name of public safety, but we know that that’s false.”
An analysis by the Guardian showed that previous requirements for close oversight of local law enforcementhave been overriddenas the Trump administration has brought back an aggressive partnership model in the form of 287(g) agreements that had been paused more than a decade ago amid concerns about civil rights abuses.
In many parts, local law enforcement and local government refuse to assist federal immigration enforcement, including in so-calledsanctuary cities.
Meanwhile, tensions over aggressive immigration enforcement flared on the opposite side of the country. In South Portland, Oregon, protests outside the local Ice facility turned chaotic late Tuesday night, as federal agents deployed flash bangs and pepper balls to disperse demonstrators, according to local channelKOIN. Video showed an apparently injured protester beingdragged and arrestedby Ice agents.
The protests followed a Portland city council meeting earlier that evening, where public concern over Ice activity was a focus of the discussion. The Ice facility has been the site of frequent protests in recent weeks, as local residents push back againstexpandedfederal immigration operations targeting a wide swath of people.