‘This is completely unconstitutional’: Pinal County residents raise concerns over 287(g) agreement at Board of Supervisors meeting on January 7
- Rural Arizona Engagement (RAZE)
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Community members voiced concerns over a federal immigration enforcement program during a Pinal County Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday morning.
The controversial 287(g) agreement was signed late last year by Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller without approval from the Pinal County Board of Supervisors. During the January 7 meeting, the board discussed the agreement and whether it should have received prior board authorization.
Wednesday’s meeting gave residents an opportunity to speak about their concerns regarding the agreement and what it could mean for Pinal County.
A 287(g) agreement is a federal immigration enforcement program that allows local police departments to work directly with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Under this program, local officers can be given immigration enforcement powers normally reserved for the federal government. Due to this program using the Task Force Model (TFM), deputized officers can enforce immigration law during routine police duties, such as traffic stops, patrols, and community encounters.
Under the model, officers would be authorized to question people about their immigration status, make an arrest without a criminal charge if the officer believes they’re undocumented, issue immigration detainers, and assist with ICE processing.
The Task Force Model was shut down back in 2012 after a Department of Justice investigation into the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office found systemic racial profiling, constitutional rights violations, and street “sweeps” that targeted Latino communities. The model was revived in January 2025 and is now the most widely used model of this program across 34 states.
Andrea Varela, a Casa Grande resident and organizing director for Rural Arizona Engagement (RAZE), said before the meeting that the program would not only create a financial burden but would also instill fear in the community.
“It is a program that causes exponential racial profiling and constitutional violations,” Varela said. “As a victim of a violent crime, [I] know that I would be terrified to reach out to law enforcement, and I know my community is fearing the same thing. This memorandum of agreement is completely unconstitutional and unnecessary.”
Theodora Schiro, volunteer director for the Pinal County Democrats, is concerned about the potential for unfair targeting and abuse of power under the program.
“I feel ICE has abused their privileges by arresting so many people that don’t have criminal records and are targeting immigrants unfairly,” said Schiro.
Jennifer Hilsbos, chairwoman of the Pinal County Democratic Party, raised concerns about the lack of federal funding to support the program in Pinal County. She also shared a story about a crime she and her son witnessed in December, when a vehicle was stolen. “There was a significant amount of time that the stolen vehicle was traveling through the jurisdiction of Pinal County Sheriff’s deputies, [and] there were no deputies to be found,” Hilsbos said. According to Hilsbos, the suspect and vehicle were eventually stopped by the Florence Police Department. “If those deputies were engaging in federal law enforcement, why were they not protecting the citizens of Pinal County, as we were losing property?”
During the board meeting, news broke that a woman had just been shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. The news shifted the mood of those in attendance.
A woman from Maricopa approached the podium to address the board.
“It’s been brought to my attention since the time we’ve been here that a woman in Minneapolis was just shot in the face and was killed. All she was trying to do was protect the vulnerable community,” said the woman. “My daughter is twenty-six years old and she [has] brown skin. We have conversations about what to do, what not to do, and be very cautious.”She said the 287(g) agreement only adds to her fears. “There’s so much hatred, so much violence. This 287(g) agreement is just horrible,” she said. “People are losing their lives.”
The Pinal County Board of Supervisors has not taken action or issued a statement regarding the 287(g) agreement.
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