This is the fourth in a series of articles trying to give the fullest view possible of what Allen County, Ohio, Sheriff Daniel Beck said at his October 26, 2007, presentation to the Illinois Minuteman Project meeting at McHenry County College.
Topics so far have been
Fighting Republican Courthouse Corruption
Motivation for Getting Involved with the Fight Against Illegal Aliens and
Today’s article concentrates on enforcement techniques.
Sheriff Beck reported deporting about 100 people through ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).
He said they don’t use 287(g) (which “cross-designates local officers to enforce immigration law as authorized through section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act,” according to the ICE website.)
It was the Waukegan City Council’s request of ICE for such training for two of its officers that caused all the brouhaha there.
The police there sought that authority so it could deport illegal aliens who broke criminal law—exactly what Sheriff Beck’s deputies do without having had that training course and the authority it confers upon a local police department.
He met with Brian Moskowitz, the Regional Special Agent in Charge for Ohio and Michigan.
They talked about the 287(g) training process, which Moskowitz said would take three years.
“We couldn’t wait that long.”
Beck said he had not asked for 287(g) training because “they told us it would take three years.” He wondered how Waukegan was going to obtain it within two years.
Beck later also complained about the five weeks the 287(g) training program would take.
“It’s extremely difficult to lose two or three officers for five weeks,” he explained.
He said his effort resulted from partnering with local ICE officials.
His department fills out the paperwork and even transports the aliens to his regional counterpart of the ICE detention center on the fourth floor of the McHenry County Jail. That’s to make it easy for the understaffed ICE regional office. (There are only 45 ICE employees in Ohio.)
“ICE won’t pick up illegals up until they are arrested and convicted,” Beck explained.
“We’ve tried to make the job easy for ICE. We transport them and fill out the paperwork (on their forms).”
Even so, “If you look at out numbers, I don’t think we’re doing very much,” Beck said.
“The rest are just doing nothing.”
Later, Beck said, “Sometimes it becomes psychological warfare,” pointing out, “Over the last year and a half about 100-150 illegal families have moved out of our county.
“We found a way to do it without 287(g),” he continued.
Tomorrow’s article deals with identity theft by illegal aliens.
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The detention facility pod shown is on the fourth floor of the McHenry County Jail. There are not prisoners seen because it was shift change time when this photograph was taken during a Saturday summer tour arranged for Chinese young political leaders by McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren. That’s a story I must write some time when things are slow. You’ll never guess what they found most intriguing in McHenry County.