The recently proposed SB1164 seeks to expand Section 287 (g) of the 1996 Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Section 287 (g) allows state and local law enforcement agencies to form compacts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to delegate specific immigration enforcement authority to designated officers.

As of December 2024, only five law enforcement agencies in Arizona have formed agreements with ICE. SB1164 aims to mandate participation statewide. It requires “at least 10% of officers in every law enforcement agency in the state participate in the program.” ICE agents train and deputize local officers to perform immigration enforcement tasks.

Most Arizonans may favor more immigration enforcement, but will this measure reduce overall crime throughout the state? Expanding 287 (g) will not reduce crime for the following reasons: immigrants are less likely to commit crimes, 287(g) programs don’t reduce crime, and will put more strain on local law enforcement.

A 2020 study by the Cato Institute found in Texas that illegal immigrants were “40 percent less likely to be arrested” and “a conviction rate 74 percent below that of native-born Americans for property crimes.” Native-born citizens are five times more likely to commit violent crimes. Between 1990 and 2018, 90% of the prosecutions against immigrants were immigration infractions. Immigration has doubled in the U.S. since 1980, but the crime rate has fallen by 60.4%.

These numbers contradict the findings of economist John R. Lott Jr. In his 2017 paper, Lott suggests that undocumented immigrants have a “higher prison admissions rate than U.S. citizens” in Arizona. Per economist Alex Nowrasteh, Lott lumped legal and illegal residents under the category “non-US citizen and deportable,” skewing Lott’s results. Estimating that in 2014, 11.1% of prison admissions were undocumented immigrants, but this is closer to 4.3%.

Besides the existing crime rates of illegal immigrants, the 287 (g) program is ineffective at reducing crime. A 2018 study of counties in North Carolina participating in 287(g) found that the program “failed to reduce crime”. Researchers separated the impact of 287(g) and attributed the dip in the crime rate between 2003 and 2013 to national trends in criminal activity. However, the study did “find a significant relationship between the activation of 287(g) agreements and assaults against police officers.”

287(g) agreements also negatively impact crime by reducing cooperation with the police. Latinos living in communities with 287 (g) agreements are 44% less likely to report crimes and 45% less likely to “voluntarily offer information about crimes.” The distrust of police stems from concerns over racial profiling, being detained and being questioned about their immigration status. 

These concerns are valid because Arizona has a rocky history when it comes to racial profiling. Under current immigration enforcement efforts, most of the people detained were not violent criminals. Approximately 10% of all people deported are lawful permanent residents, even putting legal immigrants at risk.

Tasking local and state law enforcement with immigration enforcement diverts resources from local policing. Arizona already has a police shortage. The Phoenix Police Department is 500 officers short of being fully staffed. Arizona is the only western state without 24-hour coverage from state troopers. 

The SB1164 requirement that each agency devote 10% of their officers to immigration enforcement will worsen the current police shortage, leading to burnout and decreased efficiency. Within the first year of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office entering a 287(g) agreement responding officers arrived late to two-thirds of more than 6,000 “serious” emergency calls.

SB1164 is the wrong policy for Arizona. Even the county sheriffs agree that immigration enforcement is best left to federal law enforcement. The 287(g) agreements do little to curb crime, and mandating this program statewide would waste resources and make Arizona less safe.

Peter Clark is an Arizona-based writer.