Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk is pushing for more resources to expand the county’s participation in a federal program aimed at identifying and deporting undocumented migrants. The sheriff’s office is one of 60 agencies in the U.S. participating in the Jail Enforcement Model of the 287(g) program, which allows local law enforcement to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain and remove undocumented individuals before they are released into the community.
Since joining the program over 16 years ago, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office claims it has placed 11,400 detainers and facilitated the removal of more than 7,400 individuals who violated immigration laws. The office says many of these deportations were linked to crimes such as murder, rape, and child molestation. However, it did not provide detailed data on specific offenses, deferring to ICE for that information.
Collier County includes areas with significant Hispanic and Latino populations, particularly Immokalee and Ave Maria. Despite concerns about the impact of expanded immigration enforcement on these communities, Rambosk has requested additional resources to strengthen the county’s 287(g) partnership in alignment with former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. The Trump administration has declared a national border emergency, aiming to use federal and military resources to curb illegal immigration, dismantle transnational gangs, and carry out large-scale deportations.
The sheriff’s office declined to specify what new assets it seeks for the program. ICE’s website states that participating agencies sign a memorandum of agreement outlining their responsibilities, with Collier County’s most recent agreement signed in June 2020.
The Naples Daily News requested data on how many individuals accused or convicted of serious crimes such as rape or murder had been detained or deported through the program. The sheriff’s office responded that it does not maintain such a breakdown, directing inquiries to ICE.