The Palmyra public safety building. (Photo via Palmyra Fire Rescue Facebook page)
The Wisconsin Examiner’s Criminal Justice Reporting Project shines a light on incarceration, law enforcement and criminal justice issues with support from the Public Welfare Foundation.
Under a proposed partnership with federal Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE), the Palmyra Police Department would focus on criminals — not on people simply because they might be immigrants without legal status, the department’s interim police chief told the Wisconsin Examiner in an interview last week.
Interim Police Chief Paul Blount also said that partnering with ICE would allow department officers to get access to databases and resources to better fight serious crimes, such as drug trafficking and human trafficking.
Along with the proposed partnership deal, the Palmyra department has the potential to receive payments for its involvement. According to CBS 58 News, Blount said last week that the agreement might “be the difference in this next year of having officers on the street during the daytime and nighttime.”
Blount spoke with the Wisconsin Examiner for about 40 minutes Thursday about the village’s proposed ICE partnership. The arrangement, under the ICE task force model, would grant officers limited authority to enforce immigration law while performing routine police duties. The department would also receive reimbursements from ICE.
Task force agreements with ICE were discontinued in 2012, but the government has revived the program in President Donald Trump’s second term, Stateline reported.
The 287(g) program allows participating local law enforcement to enforce certain aspects of U.S. immigration law in partnerships with ICE. While 13 Wisconsin counties have a sheriff’s department partnering with ICE, Palmyra would be the only 287(g) partnership in Wisconsin between a police department and ICE.
The Palmyra partnership would also be the only 287(g) partnership in Wisconsin using the task force model. Other models focus on people who are already in custody.
The proposal still awaits approval by the Palmyra village board.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin issued a press release last week criticizing the potential partnership, saying the department is “partnering hand in glove with ICE to carry out this regime’s plan to deport our immigrant neighbors and loved ones.”
Chief: Little change for police operations
In his interview with the Wisconsin Examiner, Blount said that under the arrangement with ICE, the village police department would not be operating much differently than it does now.
In addition to cooperating with the federal government, Blount said, “Obviously the financial incentive that was newly added that goes along with it was another reason why we looked at this program, and said, ‘We’re already doing a majority of what this involves. So why would we not collaborate with them, and then we could have the financial incentive that goes along with it.’”
The ICE website says officers may also exercise limited immigration authority as active participants on ICE-led task forces.
In its statement, the ACLU said that the task force model “gives officers the green light to stop people they think might be immigrants on the street, question them about their citizenship status, and even take them into custody.”
Blount said the department will not go door to door to check individuals’ documentation or profile people who they think may lack documentation. Palmyra police will collaborate with ICE when someone is involved in criminal activity, wanted on a warrant or facing criminal charges, he said.
Blount, who is also the director of public safety for the village, said he is one of three full-time officers in the department, along with five part-time officers.
Asked whether a Palmyra Police Department officer might ask people about their immigration status if they are pulled over for traffic violations — rather than something that would lead police to take a driver to jail — Blount said he didn’t think that was likely.
“For a simple traffic stop, that is something that we would be allowed to do,” Blount said, “and I would say that I haven’t made a final decision on that yet. If it involves criminal traffic, the answer to that would be yes, if it’s criminal traffic. So there are certain things that rise to the element of criminal traffic law…but basic traffic [offenses] like a speeding ticket, probably not.”
Blount said that distinction would potentially be detailed in a policy if the village moves ahead with the partnership.
In its statement, the ACLU of Wisconsin raised concerns about racial profiling. A 2011 Department of Justice investigation found widespread racial profiling and other discrimination in an Arizona task force.
The ACLU also called for “a balanced approach to immigration that includes both humane border management and a pathway to citizenship.”
If Palmyra moves forward with the partnership, Blount said he is leaning “towards establishing policies and procedures to prevent any type of profiling that the agreement has the potential for.”
ICE now lists Palmyra Police Department as a participating 287(g) agency with the task force model, with a signature date of Monday, Sept. 22. Blount said the department received federal approval on Wednesday.
The department’s application for the task force model is pending review by the village board, Blount said, and the board’s vote will be posted on a meeting agenda before it takes place.
Officers who will be involved must take 40 hours of training and education, which has not started yet, Blount said.
A financial boon
Blount said the program would come with significant financial incentives from the federal government.
At the time of his interview with the Wisconsin Examiner, Blount was unsure of the exact amounts that Palmyra would receive. He later sent the Examiner a press release from the Department of Homeland Security dated Sept. 17, which includes details about reimbursement opportunities that will begin Oct. 1.
A 287(g) fact sheet on ICE’s website contains a section titled “Task Force Model Reimbursement Plan Benefits,” which include $7,500 for equipment for each trained task force officer, $100,000 for new vehicles, salary and benefits reimbursed per trained task force officer and overtime funds up to 25% of salary.
Agencies will also be able to receive quarterly performance awards, up to $1,000 per eligible task force officer, based on “the successful location of illegal aliens provided by ICE and overall assistance to further ICE’s mission to defend the homeland,” the ICE press release states.
Members of the village board did not respond to interview requests from the Wisconsin Examiner.
In his interview, Blount said he believes he and the board are listening to community questions.
“We’ve had a fair amount of support and a fair amount of, lack of a better term, negativity and pushback for the potential pending agreement,” Blount said. “So we’re listening to both sides and listening to that feedback, and I think obviously the board then will make their decision based on that.”
Blount said he didn’t think the village board would weigh in on the specifics of how he participates in the agreement.
“They usually don’t get involved in my operations per se,” he said.
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