THE IMPACT OF THE 287(G) PROGRAM ON PROCESSES OF HISPANIC INTEGRATION AND ENGAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY OF CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG, NORTH CAROLINA
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Abstract
This research explores the impacts of a federal-local partnership called the 287(g) program on the processes of integration of Hispanics in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina. Federal 287(g) allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to partner with state and local authorities to enact several immigration enforcement functions. In 2006, Mecklenburg County signed the 287(g) agreement to authorize a number of local sheriff deputies to determine the legal status of individuals arrested for a crime. As a new immigrant gateway, Charlotte-Mecklenburg has received a large number of immigrants in a few decades that are largely Hispanic. Previous research suggests that like any other government program, 287(g) has several intended and unintended consequences on the community. The impacts of this program are thought to be most acutely felt by the Hispanic community.Using a mixed method analysis, this research explores whether 287(g) impacts processes of Hispanic integration in terms of three main axes: social trust, social interaction, and spatial mobility. First, using secondary data, this study quantitatively investigates changes in trust, interaction, and mobility of Hispanics after 287(g) was implemented in Mecklenburg County. Second, this study qualitatively examines the program's impact on processes of integration using 46 in-depth interviews with a variety of service providers. The qualitative method portion focuses on the service providers because they are at the frontlines of delivering basic services to the newcomers in a new immigrant gateway, and as such, provide the infrastructure of integration processes. Respondents come from a range of backgrounds: local law enforcement, community organizations, advocacy organizations, churches, health care providers, school systems, courts, media, and members of the Hispanic student community. Triangulating these two methods and bringing together various pieces of information, this research builds a deeper understanding of the impacts of 287(g) in a new immigrant gateway.There are many personal and institutional reasons that may hinder the processes of integration of Hispanics. Furthermore, economic events such as the recent downturn can also impact the daily lives of Hispanics and their integration pathways. However, the findings of this research suggest that 287(g) plays a major role in impacting trust, interaction and mobility of Hispanics in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. The findings imply that the impacts of 287(g) cannot be clearly divided into intended and unintended consequences as previous research suggests. There are intended impacts of 287(g) that are in line with the official objective. For example, the 287(g) program has several intended consequences, such as identification and removal of undocumented criminals. However, the qualitative interviews suggest that there are underlying intentions of 287(g) that seek to target undocumented individuals regardless of the nature and severity of their crime. Similarly, the unintended consequences of the program also range from major impacts to more minor ones. Both quantitative and qualitative methods indicate that in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Hispanics' trust in police have eroded after the implementation of the 287(g) program. The investigations on trust and interaction suggest that perception of the impact of 287(g) depends on whether the service provider is from a governmental or non-governmental organization. This is an important finding since in a new immigrant gateway such as Charlotte-Mecklenburg, as non-governmental organizations have been shown to play a pivotal role in providing an integration infrastructure to Hispanics (and other immigrants) rather than governmental organizations. Furthermore, this research indicates that the daily mobility of Hispanics, specifically driving an automobile, has been impacted by a combination of 287(g) and a change in driver's licenses laws in North Carolina which points to the compounding role 287(g) plays in conjunction with other policies. Finally when asked directly about 287(g)'s impact on Hispanic mobility, respondents indicated that an adverse economic climate has a greater impact on the movement of Hispanics away from Charlotte-Mecklenburg. Hispanics may have migrated out in search of better opportunities elsewhere. Collectively, these findings not only point to the expected existence of intended and unintended consequences, but to an unexpected and more complex impact playing out in terms of Hispanics' trust, interaction, and mobility as viewed through the service provider's lens.The findings indicate that the unintended consequences of 287(g) stem from three main reasons: (1) Many individuals who are convicted of minor offenses, like traffic infractions are processed by 287(g); (2) Misinformation among both the Hispanic community and local law enforcement, and (3) 287(g) may have compounded the mistrust, unwillingness to interact, and mobility issues that may have previously existed. These findings indicate that Charlotte-Mecklenburg should explore other options to address the problem of identification. Resolving this issue may assist in the implementation of 287(g) according to its intended goal: to focus on major criminals. Additionally, this research indicates that consistent education of Hispanics about 287(g) is crucial to addressing the problem of misinformation about 287(g). Along with educating Charlotte-Mecklenburg's Hispanics, local law enforcement authorities who are not trained by ICE on 287(g) should also be educated about the program, as they are usually the ones who make the initial arrest. The findings suggest that dealing with the issue of identification and misinformation simultaneously may begin to decrease the negative impacts of the program and increase its effectiveness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. This research uses disparate pieces of evidence to advance the discussions about the impact of local involvement in immigration enforcement policies in a new gateway city. The findings point to a need for better empirical data related to immigration enforcement policies and integration processes to be able to accurately gauge its impact on a local context. Future research can also investigate how these types of local immigration enforcement policies can potentially have a broader impact on children and immigrant families.