Corrections officers will be trained to enforce existing immigration laws in the US, following the decision by a Sheriff’s Office in New Jersey, to enroll them in a federal program. Approval to join the program has been given to the Sheriff’s Office of Cape May County. Three corrections officers will be trained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the investigation, detainment, and processing of undocumented immigrants in the county jail.
In a statement, Sheriff, Gary Schaffer said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is very active during the summer months in the jail when there is a spike in the seasonal economy and population of the county. He assured residents that officers would not be going out searching for undocumented immigrants.
Schaffer advised families worried about their immigration status to relax, as the only people affected by the new program will be serious and violent criminal offenders who also happen to be undocumented immigrants. But many immigrant advocates remain worried by the development, saying that even a limited program contributes to the environment of unease in which immigrants in the US are now living.
Immigrant activists have questioned the program since President Donald Trump called for its expansion, via executive order, in January. The officers will be trained in Charleston, in South Carolina, when there is an opening for them to do so, probably in late May or around the beginning of June.