Prosecutors and investigators with the Pinal County Attorney’s Office are now, at times, working directly with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Flanked by ICE agents, Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller said at a news conference Monday that collaboration via the federal program called 287g has already begun.
“This strategic partnership with ICE is a force multiplier for my office,” Miller said.
This means Miller’s staff can now use federal databases and the office will get resources yet to be determined.
It’s all in exchange for working with ICE on task forces targeting certain violent crimes.
“Evil exists in this world. And it manifests itself through human trafficking, drug trafficking, domestic violence and crimes against children,” Miller said.
Miller also said the deal allows for his office to prosecute some human smuggling cases.
The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office has long worked with ICE in jails.
“With this partnership, if you commit a crime in Pinal County, we will hunt you down, no matter where you go, and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law,” Miller said.
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Assistant Chief Patrol Agent Mike Wisniewski says this latest surge comes on the heels of a similar operation last month, which led to the arrest of dozens of undocumented immigrants. -
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Every year, Arizona State University Barrett Honors College professor Abby Wheatley brings her class on transnational migration to the Arizona borderlands. -
The U.S. Border Patrol has a new leader: Rosario Vasquez has been named chief of the agency. -
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