Ramapo police chief rejects 287(g)
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- May
- 7
Speaking out tonight against Suffern’s immigration-enforcement plan, among others, was the police chief from just down the road. (Read the full story here.)
Ramapo Chief Peter Brower told a group of 200 at Tagaste Monastery that immigration enforcement was best left to the feds, so that local police can work effectively with all groups in the community. (Ramapo surrounds Suffern and several other incorporated villages in Rockland County.)
Brower said he was bringing a message from town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence: “We’re not going to apply for 287(g),” referring to the federal training program on immigration enforcement. “We’re local police. We have local problems. We’ll deal with the local problems.”
More on the meeting later.
Update: Suffern Police Chief Clarke Osborn has this to say (on Thursday).
“While the Town of Ramapo does not feel the need for this program we in Suffern have evaluated 287g and found that this program would be beneficial to the safety & welfare of our residents of the village. We have listened to all views on this issue and have received overwhelming support of this program from residents from both within and outside the Village of Suffern and while the Town of Ramapo does not feel that they need to file for this program to remove illegal CRIMINAL aliens, we in the Village of Suffern feel that we do. The Suffern Police Department will continue to research any available program that will assist us in protecting our residents.”
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 at 10:35 pm by Leah Rae.
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Ramapo is such a dump town no wonder they need to deal with a ton of local problems. Maybe if you started to get the illegals out of there you might not have as many local problems. Another lazy police chief who doesn’t have to deal
with the issue. Only the people of the town have to deal with it.
The Citizens of this country WANT the police to arrest and deport illegal aliens. Why are OUR RIGHTS not being protected? We DEMAND AND DESERVE to live in a country without people who BREAK the law by coming here to STEAL FROM US ON A DAILY BASIS. There would not be so much local trouble without these ILLEGALS squatting in our towns.
The fact that the police chief of Ramapo made a statement saying that this is not a “LOCAL PROBLEM” is astonishing to me. Illegal aliens in Suffern with multiple offenses who continue to commit crimes in town after serving time… what more explanation do you need? Nice comment message boy! Sad that the Chief can’t speak on his own behalf.
This Ramapo Chief of police is a disgrace to our community!!! Not wanting to protect his citizens from very real criminals committing very real crimes!!!! I commend Chief Osborn for having the balls to stand up for what is right and taking a stand to keep his village safe. Ramapo is a dump and is an embarrassment to this county!!!!!!!
I cannot believe that Ramapo Police Chief Brower would actually come into Suffern which is an area that he does not even cover and make a ludicrous statement like this. Mr. Brower, when an illegal alien climbs through a window at 2:00 AM and attacks the homeowner I guess that is not a “local problem” either. The fact that you went and made a statement on behalf of St. Lawrence shows that the Ramapo Police are in dire straits and a major part of the political structure in Ramapo. God knows that Ramapo is a disgrace, keep to policing your own town, we don’t want anything to do with you or your rubber stamp politicians.
Ramapo- Stay out of Suffern. We do not need you!!!! We do not use any of your services. You should stick to worrying about your problems!
It shouldn’t matter the color of ones skin or their nationality. If a crime is committed the individual should do the time or be deported if their here illegal. NO IF AND”S OR BUTS!!!! For anyone not to agree with this in insane. We all want to live in a safe society but we tie the hands of the individuals who are trained to keep our community safe. Shame on you Ramapo!!!!!! I can’t speak for others but, I want to live and work in a safe community.
Mr. Jones states that the 287(g) program ‘targets people of color’. How this absurd comment can be given any merit is beyond me. The Section 287(g) program, established by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, is a means by which state and local law enforcement agencies may enter into agreements with DHS so that officers may receive training from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to perform immigration enforcement functions such as identification, processing, and detention of criminals. This training provides state and local police with additional tools they can use to prosecute crimes committed by aliens, especially gang violence and document fraud, while reducing the impact of illegal immigration on local communities and making it less likely that terrorists will be able to operate with impunity in the United States.
To characterize this as being a profiling tool is wrong. For Chief Bower to state that he’s not on board with pursuing the same strategy, is the same as saying he does not want to do his sworn duty in enforcing the law. It’s that simple.
The utility of this program is borne out by its documented success to date. As of August 21, 2007, 23 state and local law-enforcement agencies have struck agreements with ICE, and about 75 others have submitted applications. Most agreements were signed in the prior 18 months. To date, ICE has trained 416 officers, who, in turn, have made over 22,000 arrests in conjunction with Federal law enforcement officials.
Several large, urban counties including Los Angeles and San Bernadino Counties in California and Mecklenburg County in North Carolina participate in the 287(g) program. Mecklenburg County’s participation has been so successful, in fact, that the Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources Subcommittee of the House Government Reform Committee held a hearing in the county in 2006 specifically to discuss that jurisdiction’s experiences with the program.
What John Keegan and Clarke Osborn are doing is upholding their responsibilities to their community.
Ed Kowalski
911 Families For A Secure America
So is the Chief speaking for himself or for St. Lawrence? If he is just a spokesperson for St. Lawrence, we are seriously overpaying to have a chief of police simply be a spokesperson. And if he is speaking for himself, I agree with the posts above that he is derelict in his duties. The sad thing is that the Town of Ramapo has become a joke in so many ways. I can’t wait to get out.