WASHINGTON – House Republicans at Tuesday’s hearing were called on by local law enforcement officials to increase cooperation between U.S. immigration customs and enforcement and to strengthen deportation.

Louisiana Republican Rep. Clay Higgins, a Louisiana Republican, on the House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee Panel, advised local and state law enforcement to “prepare” and take the necessary accreditation measures to partner with federal immigration enforcement, citing ICE’s voluntary 287(g) program.

“You will be given the opportunity to (a) join the ice-filled task force in your state and your community to eliminate criminal illegals,” said Higgins, director of the Federal Law Enforcement Subcommittee.

“This will be a continuous operation,” he continued.

Democrats on the panel retreated, claiming that this type of cooperation would only fuel plans for a massive deportation of people without permanent legal status.

“It’s very clear that their massive deportation agenda will reach millions of people to our loved ones, neighbors and colleagues who have never committed a crime,” said Rep. Summer Lee, a top Democrat on the panel. “None of these policies strengthen or support our community.”

Previous hearing with the mayor

Tuesday’s hearing will come later Last week’s highly controversial six-hour hearing Before a full House committee where four Democratic mayors from the city that had accepted a large number of immigrants testified about a policy that would ban local law enforcement from coordinating with ice officials known as protected cities. These policies do not prevent immigration enforcement from occurring.

Republicans are urging state and local law enforcement agencies to participate in the voluntary 287(g) program.

There are two types of 287(g) programs: One is the “Prison Enforcement” model. This means that local law enforcement agencies can issue immigrant detainers to hold people until the ice is detained. The second is the “warrant service officer” model, where ICE issues ICE warrants and trains them to make an arrest.

Currently, there are 76 law enforcement agencies in 23 states, with 143 agencies in 22 states entering into “prison enforcement” agreements. According to the ice.

Green Card Concerns

Before the witness was questioned, Lee said Green card holder Mahmoud Khalil arrest and detention By ice. Halil, a Palestinian activist who confirmed the White House on Tuesday that he had his legal permanent resident status, or a green card, was revoked by Cold War-era authorities held by the Secretary of State.

“Secretary Rubio reserves the right to revoke Mahmoud Khalil’s visa,” White House press chief Karolyn Leavitt said at a briefing Tuesday.

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Secretary of State personally requires that an individual’s green card be revoked and if he determines that the individual’s existence is “potentially serious and unfavorable consequences of foreign policy,” he can face deportation.

Halil is still in custody at an ice facility in Louisiana, and a federal judge blocked his deportation as his case challenged the detention on ice proceeds.

“Given the topic of today’s hearing, does Donald Trump expect local law enforcement to police immigrant speeches?” asked Lee.

Halil supported various protests in the war in Gaza at Columbia University. Similar protests against the Palestine high civilian deaths in the Israeli Hama war cleaned up university campuses last spring.

“If Republicans want local law enforcement to act as federal immigration agents, will they be tasked with suspending the initial amendments for those who don’t agree, monitoring social media posts and cataloging which protests they will attend?” Lee asked. “We’re over slippery slopes.”

Florida Immigration Act

Lee burned one of the witnesses slammed by a Republican, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, Florida’s state immigration law.

She asked if Florida has two immigration-related laws regarding books. One is a misdemeanor for adults in the country who don’t allow them to enter the state, and the other is a bonus for law enforcement agencies working for ICE.

Gualtieri has confirmed that these laws are correct.

“So Florida will pass laws targeting all undocumented adults, slap them with crimes just to enter Florida, and provide more money to law enforcement to ship to ice custody,” she said. “It seems like a lot of massive deportation for me.”

Gualtieri defended coordination between local and ICE officials, claiming federal immigration officials are tied to resources.

Arizona GOP MP Andy Biggs asked Gualtieri what he thought about the policies of the so-called sanctuary city.

“We’ve all heard local officials saying it’s federal liability and they haven’t helped them to arrest these offences,” he said. “This is shortsighted, because local law enforcement must support ICE if it is successful in combating the country’s problems.”

Last updated at 5:54pm, March 11, 2025