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The Trump administration is making the 287(g) program a major focus in its efforts to arrest and deport immigrants. The program gives certain local police officers the power to enforce federal immigration laws. NPR's Jaclyn Diaz visited Walton County, Florida, to learn how it's been working in one community in a state that's gone all-in on immigration enforcement.
JACLYN DIAZ, BYLINE: Walton County Sheriff Sergeant Oscar D'Lassalas is getting ready to go on patrol.
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OSCAR D'LASSALAS: We'll go to the road. Now, let's see what we got going on today.
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DIAZ: He's got a lot on his plate. He's a father of six. He's a SWAT team leader and a baseball coach. On top of that, last year, D'Lassalas became a certified 287(g) officer. That's a program that allows local police to work with ICE on immigration enforcement. We asked D'Lassalas, how does it work on the ground?
D'LASSALAS: We don't actively seek individuals with ICE detainers 'cause that's not our duty. That's a federal job.
DIAZ: But under the program, officers like D'Lassalas can interrogate people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally. And they can make arrests.
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DIAZ: Training for this is an online, 40-hour course. The program started decades ago. Democratic and Republican administrations have used it to varying degrees, but the Trump administration has significantly expanded it. As of late July, ICE signed more than 2,100 contracts with local agencies across the country, a sharp increase from two years ago. This past June, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin pushed the program hard during the National Sheriff's Convention.
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MARKWAYNE MULLIN: It's also beneficial to you. If you partner with us with the 287(g) program, we can pay some of your deputies' salaries. We can pay for equipment. We can even pay for vehicles, too. And we can set up detention centers. But we need to have results coming in, too.
DIAZ: He means arrests. The Florida Highway Patrol had 9,000 immigration encounters in the last year, the most in the state. According to state data, Walton County had more than 200 in that same period. D'Lassalas says his 287(g) work looks like this - if he pulls someone over for a traffic violation, he takes their ID and runs it through a national database. He's looking for criminal warrants. But if the person doesn't have an ID, he contacts ICE to see if they have a warrant for this person. And if they do have a warrant, he says...
D'LASSALAS: I have no other choice. I have no discretion. I have to take them to jail.
DIAZ: Walton County reserves dozens of beds for ICE detainees to be held for up to 72 hours. The state gave the county $9 million to support its work with ICE. ICE also reimburses Walton County $72 per inmate per day. County Sheriff Michael Adkinson says his 287(g)-certified officers are used in a limited way.
MICHAEL ADKINSON: We're certainly not out doing immigration raids, right? That's not what we do. But if we come across those individuals who are committing a crime or endangering someone else in the state of Florida, then we're certainly going to do that.
DIAZ: The program has led to civil rights lawsuits alleging racial profiling in other cities. And that's concerning to critics like Sam Lester. He's an immigrant rights attorney with the ACLU of Florida.
SAM LESTER: We hear of instances of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who are Latino, who speak with accents. And they're being profiled. And they're being asked about their immigration status and in some cases even arrested.
DIAZ: D'Lassalas says that's something he would never do.
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DIAZ: Back in his cruiser, D'Lassalas says he understands how difficult and scary things are for undocumented immigrants right now. His father is an immigrant from Colombia, so was his late grandmother.
D'LASSALAS: I make sure that any time I interact with anybody - I don't care what status they are - that we can interact as human beings and we can be respectful.
DIAZ: Besides, he says his primary duty is to the locals in Walton County and not the federal government's 287(g) program.
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DIAZ: Jaclyn Diaz, NPR News, from Walton County, Florida.
CHANG: This story was co-reported and produced by NPR's Marisa Peñaloza. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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