The Cost of Crimmigration

What is
Crimmigration
Crimmigration
A term used by the policy reform community to refer to the intersection
between criminal law and immigration law, where state and local criminal
justice systems have begun to enforce federal immigration offenses and
expand the categories of criminal infractions that can incarcerate and
apprehend both authorized and unauthorized non-citizens. Crimmigration
policies are the newest iteration of America’s mass incarceration problem:
even minor citations can make authorized immigrants detainable and
deportable, costing jurisdictions millions of dollars annually.
Delegation of Immigration Authority Program – or
287(g)
A collaboration between the Department of Homeland Security and a city or
county that deputizes law enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration
laws, on behalf of ICE. The local officers have the authority to identify,
process, charge, and detain people believed to be violating immigration law.
State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP)
A program that potentially reimburses state and local governments for the cost
of holding non-citizens during their criminal proceedings. In recent years,
SCAAP reimbursements covered less than a quarter of the total costs, while
funding has continued to drop and is eliminated in President Trump’s
proposed budget.