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EXCLUSIVE: Three new states have signed agreements of varying intensity and substance, with one governor 1,700 miles away from Mexico saying his is effectively a “border state” due to its major fentanyl crisis.
On Wednesday, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey will announce one of the most wide-ranging agreements a state has forged with ICE yet, enlisting the West Virginia State Police, Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation and National Guard to aid immigration enforcement through the “287(g)” authority heralded by President Donald Trump.
West Virginia has long ranked among the states with the highest rates of drug-related deaths, a crisis that Morrisey says underscores the need to work with ICE to combat fentanyl trafficking.
“Under the Biden administration, millions of people poured into our country unlawfully and we had no knowledge about who they were, or whether they were a threat to our nation,” Morrisey told Fox News Digital ahead of his expected Wednesday mid-morning announcement in Parkersburg.
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It is unclear when the suspect arrived in the U.S., or how he got into the country. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“West Virginia became an effective ‘border state’ due to the massive fentanyl problem caused by illegal immigration,” he said.
The National Guard and state police will have “task force” authority to interrogate any person believed to be an illegal immigrant as to his right to remain in the U.S. – under the supervision or direction of the feds.
Officers will be able to process immigration-related violations for those arrested for state or federal offenses, and can also make warrantless arrests of any illegal immigrant in the officer’s “presence or view” if that person is believed to be a flight risk in the interim of obtaining a warrant.
Morrisey also authorized state law enforcement to serve immigration warrants, administer oaths and collect evidence for “required alien processing,” including fingerprints and suspect interviews.
Unlike some other states, West Virginia law enforcement will also be able to issue immigration detainers, prepare documents for approval from federal ICE officers and arrest felonious aliens who have the penchant to escape.
West Virginia Division of Corrections will be permitted to hold immigrants on detainer, so long as the actions fall under federal auspices.
Corrections officers will be able to follow the federal “warrant officer model,” which includes serving warrants for immigration violations in jails and transferring custody to the feds.
Farther west, South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden recently announced cooperation with ICE to a lesser extent with his “Operation Prairie Thunder” public safety crackdown.
Rhoden, who rose to the governorship upon the departure of now-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, announced earlier this month that Operation Prairie Thunder would be a “comprehensive, targeted public safety initiative” in the state – with a focus on the Sioux Falls metro area.
The anti-crime effort seeks to interdict drugs, probe gang activity and “deter lawlessness.”
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It includes a “comprehensive effort to support the work of [ICE], secure our borders and deport illegal alien criminals,” according to a statement.
The South Dakota Highway Patrol will be able to assist ICE, and six South Dakota National Guard soldiers will be tasked with helping the agency with administrative functions.
“Our work alongside ICE boils down to this: Highway Patrol will support ICE with arrests,” Rhoden said.
“The National Guard will support ICE with processing and administrative functions. And DOC will support ICE with transportation, identifying illegal immigrants in our prisons, and getting them paroled to ICE custody.”
In Arkansas, a state law took effect this week that increases penalties for illegal immigrants committing “serious felonies involving violence,” among other stipulations.
The “Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act,” signed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, also allowed Arkansas sheriffs to engage with ICE.
It allows law enforcement to apply via 287(g) to be authorized to serve immigration warrants on illegal immigrants already in custody for other offenses.
Arkansas State Police will go beyond the minimum cooperation required by the law, according to the Arkansas Times.
Cops will be able to stop people in public and ask them their immigration status – and potentially arrest suspected violators.
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A spokeswoman for the state police told the outlet that troopers must undergo training before any can work in an immigration-related capacity.
The regimen includes a 40-hour online course laying out officers’ “scope of authority, immigration law, civil rights law, cross-cultural issues, liability issues, complaint procedures and obligations under federal law,” the spokeswoman said.
Sanders credited Trump with making border security a top priority and obtaining results.
“The Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act makes it clear: Arkansas will not tolerate violent, criminal illegals and will do our part to help the Trump administration keep our citizens safe,” the former Trump press secretary said in a statement.
Those states join Florida and Wyoming, the first two to sign substantive 287(g) agreements with ICE.
