The Collier County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) reaffirmed its commitment to the 287(g) program during an immigration presentation Tuesday morning at the Collier County Commission, the first update from local law enforcement on future policies after the 2024 election.
The program allows local law enforcement to coordinate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for training, and work alongside the Department of Homeland Security to detain and deport undocumented individuals who commit crimes.
"We have the longest-standing, most productive, and flagship-recognized 287(g) program in the nation," said Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk.
Since the Collier County Sheriff's Office began working with the program in 2007:
- 11,500 detainers placed
- 8,500 criminals turned over to ICE
- 7,500+ deported after serving sentence
- 60,000 individual charges filed
- Individuals have been deported to 70+ different countries, including Russia and China.
"We invite everybody here the right way... If you're coming here to commit crimes, we really don't want you to be here. Really, it's as simple as that," he said.
CCSO officials outlined additional steps, including maintaining 287(g), reinforcing law enforcement collaboration, expanding their Intergovernmental Service Agreement (IGSA) to house detainees, and seeking federal reimbursements for holding undocumented individuals. In addition, the Sheriff's Office is entertaining the idea of using turning the Immokalee Jail Center (IJC) into a detention facility and beefing up marine patrols to monitor water-related border crossings.
"At some point, the system will get overloaded, and we want to make sure that we continue to be able to operate effectively and not be releasing criminals back into the community," said Sheriff Rambosk.
The sheriff’s office also identified 485 individuals in Collier County for potential background investigations, claiming they all have some level of ties to Collier County. Currently, they do not have the authority to investigate those people.
"I want people to understand that this is not going around sweeping up people from their homes and their schools. These are true criminals," said Commissioner Dan Kowal.
The Sheriff's Office tells Gulf Coast News that they have been in contact with Border Czar Tom Homan, and are prepared for future changes in policy.
"We're not talking about good, hardworking people that want to be here for a better life. We're talking about people that are taking advantage of our residents in Collier County. That is really very, very important. They're involved in everything from domestic violence to child molestation to aggravated battery to battery on law enforcement," said Sheriff Rambosk.