Bucks County Sheriff Fred Harran in a video posted by the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office. (Credit: Bucks County DA)
The Bucks County Sheriff’s Office has applied to join a federal program that would grant deputies the authority to enforce certain immigration laws.
Sheriff Fred Harran’s office has applied for the 287(g) program’s “task force model,” which would allow deputies to “enforce limited immigration authority,” a power typically reserved for federal agents. The application was first reported by the Bucks County Beacon, based on records obtained by news organization The Markup.
Harran, a Republican seeking reelection, said he intends to use the program to check the immigration status of individuals already in custody and those wanted by his office.
The sheriff stated that his office will not conduct immigration raids.
“This is going to be used on people with warrants, who have already committed a crime,” Harran said. “We’re not going to be doing raids of businesses or shops, and we’re not going out there to look for visa expirations.”
He added the program would provide deputies with access to free federal training and databases.
The program, which is run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), offers training on immigration law, multicultural communication, and avoiding racial profiling, according to information provided to law enforcement agencies.
The task force model agreement by the federal government allows deputies to question individuals suspected of being immigrants about their status and to arrest undocumented immigrants for felonies before a warrant can be obtained, according to a draft agreement seen by this news organization.
“This is a focused effort to identify and address individuals who have committed crimes within our county. I’ll work with anyone who wants to address those who threaten the safety of our neighborhoods where we can. But I answer to the people of Bucks County, not Washington D.C. The federal government has a role to play and the cost of deportation or ICE operations will not fall on Bucks County taxpayers,” Harran said in a statement later posted by his office.
Danny Ceisler, the Democratic candidate challenging Harran, criticized the application by the sheriff’s office.
“The Sheriff’s Office has many important duties – immigration enforcement is absolutely not one of them. Our tax dollars should be going towards clearing the county’s thousands of outstanding warrants, not doing ICE’s job for them at our expense,” Ceisler said. “If we have someone in our custody who has been convicted of a violent crime and is in the country illegally, we should absolutely notify ICE. You don’t need 287(g) to do that.”
Ceisler also raised concerns about the program’s potential impact on community relations.
“The evidence proves that when 287(g) is implemented, Spanish-speaking communities become intimidated and less likely to report crime or to testify in court,” Ceisler said.
ICE has been promoting the program to local law enforcement agencies.
According to The Markup, more than 340 agencies nationwide participate in 287(g), with Florida, Texas, and North Carolina having the highest numbers.
In Pennsylvania, rural Franklin and Bradford counties’ sheriffs’ offices participate, and the Lancaster County Sheriff’s office and the Northwest Regional Police Department in Lancaster County have recently applied.
Harran, whose employs 76 deputies and works with the 39 local police departments in Bucks County, said he is still learning about the program.
“This is only a test to see if it works. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll get rid of it,” Harran added.
The 287(g) program has faced criticism for crossing the lines between local and federal law enforcement and for potentially deterring immigrants from cooperating with local authorities.
The program was suspended under President Barack Obama and reinstated under President Donald Trump. President Joe Biden maintained it before Trump was sworn in for his second term.
A 2023 letter from the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire and other groups called for the program’s discontinuation, citing past Justice Department findings of constitutional violations in Arizona and North Carolina.
The Bucks County Correctional Facility already cooperates with federal immigration officials, but one conservative group has labeled the county as a “sanctuary.”
