To amplify their immigration enforcement agenda, federal agencies are increasingly partnering with local law enforcement through agreements under section 287(g) of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act. These agreements allow police officers to perform immigration arrests while performing their routine duties. However, by picking up additional duties related federal immigration enforcement, law enforcement agencies under these partnerships can typically end up costing their local government large sums of money to cover any additional costs that arise. These costs, which in some cases have been found to be upwards of several million dollars, are not the only cost of these partnerships, as areas with 287(g) partnerships have been found to have significantly lower levels of community trust. This lack of trust commonly results in an uptick in crime for the area.
 
To protect community trust in law enforcement, I intend to introduce legislation that would prohibit law enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania from signing on to a 287(g) agreement. Any law enforcement agency currently in such an agreement would be required to terminate the partnership.
 
Pennsylvania law enforcement are at their best when they can focus on enforcing state and local laws, and as such, they should not be enforcing federal immigration laws.
 
Please join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation to save taxpayer money and ensure that our communities know that their law enforcement agencies are here for their safety.