A plan by a Massachusetts county to work with federal immigration authorities in order to quickly deport illegal immigrants has open border groups enraged.
Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald signed an agreement with the federal government which will allow his officers to interview suspected illegal immigrants in police custody and better hand them over to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation, as Breitbart Texas reported.
The agreement gives Plymouth County law enforcement access to a federal database where they can check if a suspected illegal immigrant is wanted for another crime or has returned to the U.S. after being previously deported.
Open border activists from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Brockton Interfaith Community are targeting the local agreement as an effort they claim strips illegal aliens of their rights, despite their immigration status.
“Now, literally your local police officer is going to be an ICE official,” ACLU Massachusetts Attorney Laura Rotolo told the Enterprise News. “When that happens, people become afraid to call the police.”
Similarly, the lead organizer for the Brockton Interfaith Community, Isabel Lopez, said the migrants being targeted “haven’t done anything wrong.”
“That’s the biggest concern we have, because we have mothers and families who haven’t done anything wrong,” Lopez told the paper.
McDonald pushed back against the accusations, saying “I think it enhances public safety.”
“It’s not like we’re out there enforcing immigration law,” McDonald said. “What we’re doing is identifying criminal offenders who may also be here illegally.”
Lopez said her community group felt betrayed by McDonald because she said he promised not to sign an immigration agreement, though he denies that claim.
“I’m looking forward to talking with them and hearing what they have to say, and I’m looking forward to informing them, because I think there is a lot of misinformation floating around,” McDonald said.
McDonald is not the only sheriff in town to take on new measures to fight off illegal immigration locally.
Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson also signed the same agreement with the federal government, as he has adamantly supported President-Elect Donald Trump’s plan to end illegal immigration.
Weeks ago, the Bristol County Sheriff voiced support for Trump’s plan to build a southern border wall, as Breitbart News reported.
Hodgson offered county inmates as laborers to help build the wall, saying “I can think of no other project that would have such a positive impact on our inmates and our country than building this wall.”
John Binder is a contributor for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.