Prince William keeps tabs on White House immigration policy

A recent report on immigration enforcement from the federal Government Accountability Office. A change of White House administration. A tight national economy and ever-stretching fiscal deficit. And a new secretary of Homeland Security who enters the office at a time of great partisan push to overturn policy of the previous administration.

The result?

A possible shift in immigration policy on the national level that could affect how Prince William implements its own enforcement program, and an uncertain future for federal funding of 287(g).

The 287(g) program is how the county jail and police partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to apprehend and process those with criminal backgrounds. Since July 2007, ICE has issued 1,606 detainers for those arrested in the county and 1,506 have been processed, according to county statistics received last week.

“This is what I think is going to happen,” said Corey Stewart, R-at large, chairman of the Board of County Supervisors, looking at the national scene. “I think the administration is going to shift its enforcement focus from illegal immigration to the employer.”

Moreover, he continued, depending on federal budget decisions, the 287(g) program could lose funding. And if that happens, its fate in Prince William is jeopardized.

“If they defund it, it stops our program dead in the water,” Stewart said, rating the chances for such to occur at 50 percent. “It’s just based on the budget and the [actions of] Democrat members of Congress.”

The county does not receive money from the federal government for 287(g) implementation. But if Congress cuts ICE budgets, then fewer law enforcement would be available to partner with the county to process illegal immigrants.

“Only apprehensions would then be done by ICE, and that’s raids,” Stewart said. “We would go back to a system whereby an illegal immigrant in Prince William County would commit a crime and go right back in the community.”

His views come on the heels of a GAO report and subsequent congressional testimony that suggest a need for tightened controls over the 287(g) program.

“Specifically … guidance on how and when to use program authority is inconsistent, guidance on how ICE officials are to supervise officers from participating agencies has not been developed, data that participating agencies are to track and report to ICE has not been defined and … taken together, the lack of internal controls makes it difficult for ICE to ensure that the program is operating as intended,” according to March 4 written testimony of Richard Stana, director of Homeland Security and Justice, to the House Committee on Homeland Security.

Stana’s statements were drawn from a January GAO report titled Immigration Enforcement: Controls over Program Authorizing State and Local Enforcement of Federal Immigration Laws Should Be Strengthened.

“I’m hearing the administration is going to use these [GAO] studies as a basis for defunding or reducing the 287(g) program locally,” said Supervisor John Stirrup, R-Gainesville, who was the original author of the county’s immigration enforcement policy. “We could seek assistance from the state … but it could be problematic.”

In January, one of newly appointed Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s first moves was to issue a directive on immigration and border security policy that required a full assessment of several key programs, to include 287(g), according to a DHS press release.

And on April 2, the department’s acting deputy director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said to the House Subcommittee on Homeland Security that the administration continued to support E-Verify, a program that holds businesses accountable for the hiring of illegal immigrants.

“The Administration is dedicated to providing this service to employers and continuing to make improvements to the system to address such issues as usability, fraud [and] discrimination,” said Michael Aytes, in prepared remarks. “On balance, E-Verify will continue to be a key element of our ability to deter illegal immigration.”

The county currently has no legal means to compel businesses to perform background residency checks on new hires. But supervisors a few weeks ago approved a plan for all county contractors to use the E-Verify system.

That policy, Stewart said, will be implemented “120 days after it’s implemented on the federal level.” The start date at the federal level is May 21, he added.

Staff writer Cheryl Chumley can be reached at 703-670-1907.