VILLAGE OF SUFFERN

61 Washington Avenue
OFFICE OF
Suffern. New York 10901
THEMAVOR
JOHN B. KEEGAN

Ms. Julie Myers

Secretary
,n;:,.;:u"'.,.......

and Customs Enforcement

NW Room 7000
"'""""'1>""''', D.C. 20536

RE: The Village ofSuffem, NY

Section 2S1(g) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA)

Secretary Myers:

On behalf of the Village York which is located across

Bergen County, New JerseYi we to request that the Sufffem
Department be permitted to participate in the 287(g) Program. Criminal aliens
endangered and continue to endanger the of oW' community. Nevertheless,
new or pending state criminal charges our prisons and County jail will not
custody of these dangerous criminals. They also refuse to custody criminals to
immigration arrest warrants. policies create a dangerous loophole or form
amnesty for criminal aliens within New York which we hope to
community with participation in 287(g). This Program is vital to public safely it
our police officers with identifying aggravated criminal aliens for possible
deportation.

We propose the following:

II Participating Suffern Jaw enforcement officers exercise

under the supervision of officers. in the course of perronrnJf1lg
regular patrol, investigative, and detention duties;

• ICE provide instructors at no cost to Suffern to initially train (6) law

enforcement officers, each with a minimmn of two (2) law
enforcement experience, who have passed a security background check
acceptable to

III Either Suffern a room for the five-week training program at our
municipal building where instructors can utilize computer training
aids, videos and any other materials they may need for the or
 ICE provide the cost transportation and lodging for officers to
attend training at one FederaJ Law Enforcement Training Centers;

III Suffern transport the criminal alien detainees to the Bergen County, New
Jersey Jailor another facility within a. reasonable distance at a rate to be
negotiated with ICE.

This partnership would test new ground in New York. Suffern would enter into a
Memorandum of Understanding that would enable its designated officers to participate
with the ICE Taskforce in identifying criminal aliens for deportation who pose a risk to
the community. We look forward to yoW" speedy endorsement of this request and
moving forward with discussions in which we would more about the program
negotiate the aforementioned agreement for be of all.

We look forward 10 hearing from you.

truly yours, Very truly yours,

 Office o/State and Local Coordination

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

425 I Street, NW
Washington. DC 20536

u.s. Immigration
and Customs
JUL 2 8 2008
Enforcement

The Honorable John B. Keegan

Mayor
Village of Suffern
61 Washington Avenue
Suffern, New York 1090 I

Dear Mayor Keegan:

Thank you for your letter expressing interest in the 287(g) Delegation of Authority program
offered by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

As the largest investigative agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE is
charged with protecting national security and ensuring public safety through the aggressive
enforcement of federal immigration and customs laws across the more than 3.5 million square
miles that make up our great nation. ICE recognizes, however, that we share the responsibility
of ensuring public safety with over 775,000 state and local law enforcement officers. One way
ICE addresses this joint goa] is by building partnerships with state and local law enforcement
agencies (LEAs). To facilitate these partnerships and work more closely with our state and local
counterparts, ICE launched the comprehensive Agreements of Cooperation in Communities to
Enhance Safety and Security (ACCESS) program in 2007.

ICE ACCESS serves to provide state and local LEAs like the Suffern Police Department an
opportunity to partner with ICE to specifically combat the immigration and customs enforcement
chal1enges of their communities. To accomplish this, ICE ACCESS offers an umbrella of
services and programs to assist local LEAs with interior enforcement issues. The 287(g)
program that your letter referenced is only one such component. Other programs that fall within
the purview of ICE ACCESS include: the Customs Cross-Designation (Title 19), Document and
Benefit Fraud Task Forces, the Law Enforcement Support Center (LESC), Operation
Community Shield, the Criminal Alien Program (CAP), Fugitive Operations, and Rapid
Repatriation. Please find enclosed a copy of the ICE ACCESS Fact Sheet for more information.

It is through strategic discussions and efforts such as these that strong partnerships between state
and local law enforcement agencies and ICE can be developed. Combining Federal, state, and
local resources has proven successful in safeguarding the pUblic.

I have requested that the local ICE ACCESS liaisons work in coordination with you to determine
which ICE ACCESS programs will best meet our joint needs. The local points of contact for
ICE ACCESS are: in the Office ofInvestigations, Group Supervisor (b)@ (b)(7)() at (631) 471-
(b)(@), (b 7Il(a)1d in the Office of Detention and Removal Operations, Field Office Director Christopher
Shanahan, at (212) 264- b 6

www.ice.goY
Village of Suffern
Page 2

The first step in identifying which programs best suit your community's needs will be to
complete the "Needs Assessment Tool" that will be sent to the Police Department by your ICE
ACCESS liaison.

Thank you again for your interest in ICE.

Si~cere~

~f
~~~ive (ret.) Jim Pend
Director
Office of State and Local Coordination

Cc: Chief of Police (b)(6), (b)(7)(C)

Enclosure
 Office o/ Stale and Local Coordinatio /l

U.S. Departm ent of Ho m ela nd Sec urity

500 12th Street SW
Washington D.C. 20024

u.s. Immigration
and Customs
Enforcem ent

NO\J 1 h 20D9
MEMORANDUM FOR: John Morton
Assistant Secretary

THROUGH: Alonzo R. Pena

Deputy Assistant Secretary fo r Operations

William F. Riley
v£·
.
P;'
J
FROM: I . . ,..,.,

Acting Executive Director, OSLC

SUBJECT: Non-Support of the Suffern Police Department 287(g)

Request

Background
. ,
On May 8, 2008 , John Keegan, the Village Mayor of Suffern, NY and b 6 (bL(7)jC . the
Suffern Police Chief submitted a letter of request for 287(g) Delegation of Authority to then-
Assistant Secretary Julie Myers. Chi~t) 6) bK7l!~quested 287(g) authority for six of his officers
to participate in a Task Force.

Discussion

On April 9 ~ 2009, Christopher Shanahan, Field Office Director (FOD), New York, NY,
subsequently submitted a non-support memo of a 287(g) Program for the Suffern Police
Department (SPD) . Based upon the review of the New York City Field Office, the Rockland
County Jail, which serves the Village of Suffern, is covered 100% by CAP officers from the
Castle Point Sub-Office. The recommendation is that CAP concurs with the New York City
FOD's decision of denial for the ilnplementation of287(g) for the SPD. The Secure
Communities program will be launched in Rockland County in the fourth quarter of fiscal year
2010.

On October 22, 2009, a meeting of the OSLC Advisory Committee was convened to discuss
SPD's 287(g) request. Representatives from OSLC reviewed SPD's application and OI ' s
recommendation and received input from HQ/ORO , HQIOI, SC, and CRCL. After careful
review and consideration, OSLC is in agreement with OI ' s non-support of SPO's request to
participate in the 287(g) program.

www.ice.goY
Subject: Non-Support the Walton County Department of Corrections 287(g) Request
Page 2

Field
Christopher Shanahan, Field Office Director, Office of Detention and Removal Operations,
New York, NY
John B. Keegan, Mayor, Village of Suffern, NY

Headquarters
OSLe

I do recommend approval of SPD's 287(g) request Please indicate your decision below:

Approve _____________ Di~pprove ________________

Modify _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Needs more discussion

----------------