Do Local-Federal Immigration Enforcement Agreements Reduce Crime? A Nationwide Evaluation of the Crime Reduction Benefits of Section 287(g) of the United States Immigration and Nationality Act

By Joel A. Capellan; Evan T. Sorg

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 has facilitated the arrest, detention, and deportation of illegal immigrants by local law enforcement officials by adding 287(g) to the Immigration and Nationality Act; however, there has not been a nationwide examination of the crime reduction benefits of these agreements. Using crime, demographic, and detention data from the 167 counties that applied for 287(g) status from 2005-2010, the authors estimated three cross-lagged panel models to assess the impact on total crime of 287(g) interventions resulting in detention or deportations on total crime, violent crime, and property crime. The study found no evidence that 287(g) arrangements were linked to meaningful crime reduction. Due to the potential adverse consequences from these agreements, this study questions the continued use of such agreements under 287(g).

Glassboro, NJ: Rowan University, 2022. 40p.