MN Says No to Local Law Enforcement Cooperation with ICE

The Surge Had ICE Boots on the Ground, Now 287(G) is the Weapon Aimed At the Community

Local law enforcement should not carry out the federal roundups of innocent Minnesotans. As the Federal administration drags out their ICE drawdown in Minnesota, community members brace for the proposed shift in abduction tactics. Cooperation between local law enforcement and ICE is commonly done through 287(g). 

To be clear, 287(g) is not about public safety. It is a program that undermines community safety, constitutional and human rights, and worker dignity, all disguised as a partnership for going after criminals. The program makes local law enforcement empowered to decide when immigrants should be deported, and immigrants are detained and deported for minor infractions without being convicted of a crime. What we are seeing today with this push for 287(g) agreements is the systemic implementation of a draconian expansion of a program already condemned due to racial profiling and civil and human right abuses that have cost taxpayers in the millions of dollars because of lawsuits. 287(g) is a deliberate construction of a nationwide dragnet. The boots on the ground are only changing owners, now to be worn by local law enforcement. The target remains the same: squarely on those most vulnerable in our community. 

For Minnesota workers, 287(g) is a death sentence for dignity. When engagement with a local officer can lead to deportation proceedings, immigrant workers are much more prone to wage theft. You don't report unsafe workplace violations. You don't seek help when you are being exploited, because seeking help means risking everything. When local police transform into immigration agents, the entire community pays the price. Witnesses refuse to cooperate, 911 calls go unmade, thereby essentially dismantling public and worker safety. This not only leads to a lowering of workplace standards and wages for everyone, but in the most extreme cases the shadows become a breeding ground for human and labor trafficking. That is not public safety. It is state-sanctioned silencing of worker voices, making them invisible and disposable. 

Bottom line: 287(g) is not a neutral "cooperation" program. In fact, it undermines community safety, constitutional and human rights, and worker dignity for everyone. We as Minnesotans are on the front lines. 

We unconditionally say NO to 287(g) and call on our state and local representatives to ban287(g) agreements in our state of Minnesota. Community safety does not come through sacrificing the rights of all Minnesotans.

Signed,

Alliance for Metropolitan Stability 

Climate Justice Committee 

Communities United Against Police Brutality 

CTUL Action Fund 

Democracy Defenders-Indivisible 

Faith in Minnesota 

Families Against Military Madness 

Gender Justice 

Indivisible North Metro 

Indivisible Twin Cities 

Indivisible West Metro 

Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justicia 

ISAIAH 

Jewish Community Action 

Jewish Voice for Peace - Twin Cities 

Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO 

MInnesota AFL-CIO 

Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE) Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) 

Minnesota Indivisible Alliance 

Minnesota Voice 

MN Freedom Fund 

MN8 

New Justice Project Minnesota 

Northern progressives / Democracy Defenders 

OutFront Minnesota 

Saint Paul Federation of Educators, Local 28 

SEIU - Local 26 

SEIU - Minnesota 

SEIU Healthcare MN & IA 

Showing Up for Racial Justice-Twin Cities (SURJ-TC) 

Social Justice Committee of the St. Cloud Unitarian Universalist Fellowship St. Croix Valley Indivisible 

TakeAction Minnesota 

Tending the Soil 

The Advocates for Human Rights 

Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America 

Unidos MN 

Voices for Racial Justice 

W7th Gardeners of Resistance 

We the People Cloquet Area Indivisible 

West ALC Minnesota AFL CIO 

Wrongfully Incarcerated and over-sentenced families council-MN