ARNAUDVILLE, La. — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has partnered with dozens of local law enforcement agencies across Louisiana, including the Arnaudville Police Department in St. Landry Parish, as part of a federal program that allows local officers to enforce certain aspects of U.S. immigration law.
The Arnaudville Police Department recently joined ICE's 287(g) program under the task force model, which gives officers limited immigration authority while performing routine police duties. Click here to read more about the program.
"At the end of the day, we have laws to enforce and my job is to be the best equipped I can to handle anything for the town of Arnaudville, the citizens we are charged to protect, and all the visitors," Police Chief Josh Ross said.
Ross said ICE reached out to law enforcement agencies across the region to offer the partnership.
"So ICE reached out to us. They reached out to, I think, just about every law enforcement agency out there, and basically asked 'hey do you guys want to enter in a partnership with us,'" Ross said.
According to ICE's website, the 287(g) program allows law enforcement agencies to enforce certain aspects of U.S. immigration law through three different program models. The task force model that Arnaudville operates under allows officers to take up limited immigration authority during routine police work.
"Essentially they provide us with resources and tools. In exchange, if we run into an issue, we have a direct contact with ICE and basically makes everything more fluid," Ross said.
The partnership provides the department with resources it didn't previously have access to, particularly for identifying individuals without state identification or criminal records.
"They provide us with a service, and that service is helping with the mitigation of anything in terms of anybody who is illegal or undocumented who may not have state ID, may not have a criminal record. When you run someone's name or date of birth, if you can't access their information and they are not from here, they have other tools to give you more of a background of who you are dealing with," Ross said.
Ross described the partnership as strategic, comparing it to other task forces the department participates in.
"Much like any other task force that we use or that we utilized or that we are part of, it's just a tool that we can lean on somebody in that field of expertise," Ross said.
When asked whether he believes there are many undocumented immigrants living in Arnaudville, Ross said the partnership isn't specifically targeting undocumented residents.
"No, like I said, the partnership has nothing to do with undocumented per se, necessarily, all the way. We are not out stopping people because they are brown. We are not stopping people because they are Mexican, because they are Asian, because they are Black, because they are white. It's just a tool we can utilize for something we would possibly need. It's better to have something, then not need it, than need it and not have it," Ross said.
Ross confirmed his department will support ICE if federal agents conduct operations in the town.
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