Herndon Police May Join Immigration Enforcement

Summers's proposal comes during a time when major crime in Herndon has dropped sharply.

According to his presentation to the council, crimes such as murder, rape and robbery declined 26 percent between 2002 and 2005.

Council member J. Harlon Reece, who supported the day labor center, said he found the idea of training local officers in immigration law to be a reasonable way of "getting the criminal element out of our town and the country."

"If people break our laws, we ought to be able to see if they're here illegally," Reece said.

Several law enforcement agencies, including the Alabama Department of Public Safety, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, have put officers through the program, which includes courses in criminal law, document examination and cross-cultural communication.

But other agencies, including the Virginia State Police, have shied away from 287(g), for fear that it would heighten the reluctance in many immigrant communities to cooperate with police investigations.

The proposal is drawing sharply critical response from immigration advocates, who say it will rekindle tensions in a town that needs time to repair racial and ethnic divisions.

"My personal opinion is that the council is suffering from a widespread disease called xenophobia. They're allergic to anything that's foreign," said Jorge Rochac, a Herndon businessman and former police translator who ran an unsuccessful council campaign in May.

"If the goal is to create bad faith, tension and hostility, then [entering the program] is a good idea," said Jon Liss, who heads Tenants and Workers United, an Alexandria group that organizes day laborers.

"This is a broken immigration system," Liss added. "And these piecemeal community approaches are no way to make immigration policy. Don't touch it with a 10-foot pole."