Overview
- The Pinal County Attorney’s Office signed onto ICE’s 287(g) task force model, with joint work already underway, officials said.
- Prosecutors said the partnership provides training, authority and access to federal databases to verify immigration status, transfer convicted offenders to ICE and pursue human-smuggling cases.
- County Attorney Brad Miller said the effort targets violent and dangerous offenders and that he will seek legislation tied to smuggling prosecutions.
- The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office has participated in the 287(g) jail-enforcement model since 2020, according to ICE records.
- Civil-rights advocates, including the ACLU, argue the arrangement erodes the firewall between local policing and federal immigration enforcement and discourages community cooperation; Arizona currently has 10 agencies in the program.