Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX), Chairman of Homeland Security Oversight & Investigations, on DHS's decision to discontinue the 287(g) program in Arizona
"Contrary to DHS's position that 287(g) is 'not useful' in states that have Arizona-style laws, I could not disagree more. Yesterday the Supreme Court upheld the right of local and state law enforcement in Arizona to initiate the enforcement of our immigration laws. However, only federal law enforcement can complete the process through deportation. Discontinuing 287(g) takes away the most effective link between local police and sheriffs' offices, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement and, ironically, removing this link hinders the administration's stated goal to maximize limited resources by using prosecutorial discretion in deportation.
"It is astounding that for the second time this month, the Obama administration has placed politics ahead of good government, and taken the law into its own hands when it didn't get what it wanted from Congress or the Supreme Court."
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