Clallam County

223 East.fh Street, Suite 12

Sheriff's Office Port Angeles, WA 98362-3015
w. L. Ben edict www.clallam.netllawenforcement
Administration: (360)417-2262
Sheriff Fax: (360)417-2498

File: A31.41

December 24. 2008

Ms. Julie Myers

Assistant Secretary
U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement

RE: APPLICATION FOR 287(g)

Dear Secretary Meyers,

I am writing to request participation in the Delegation of Authority Program pursuant to 287 (g)
of the Immigration and Naturalization Act. Given our ongoing relationship with ICE, this
partnership will enable us to better serve the needs of the residents of the Olympic Peninsula and
Clallam County Washington which enjoys over 125 miles of international border with Canada.

I have been in communication with your office in Seattle. Assistant Special Agent in Ch3l\M.6), (b)(7)(C)
(b)(6). (O) a~)I Senior Special Agen\b)(o). (b)(7)( ~jlave been very helpful and encouraging. With their
advice I am proposing the following:

Train two Corrections Officers pursuant to 287(g) that currently work in the Clallam
County Correctional facility. This would greatly enhance the ability of our Corrections
staff to determine the immigration status of those individuals arrested and incarcerated
for criminal violations in the greater Olympic Peninsula area and to work even more
closely with Customs and Border Protection, ICE and Border Patrol in the pursuit of their
goals and objectives. This training and subsequent 287(g) authority would give our
Corrections Staff in the jail greater awareness, insight, and knowledge to assist CBP and
ICE combating crime while performing their own correctional duties in the jaiL

This program will allow us to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement that will better enable us
to participate with Immigration and Customs authorities in identifying illegal aliens who pose a
risk to the citizens of Clallam County. I look forward to a speedy endorsement of this request and
moving forward with this program.

Sincerely,

Bill Benedict.
Sheriff
 Offict olState and Locol Coordination

U.S. Deplnmtnl or flomtllnd Stturity

500 12th SIreeL SW
Washington. DC 205]6

u.s. Immigration
and Customs
Enforcement
Bill Benedict
Sheriff
Clallam County JAN 1 2 2009
223 East 4th Street, Suite 12
Port Angeles, Washington 98632

Dear Sheriff Benedict:

Thank you for your letter expressing interest in the 287(g) Delegation of Authority program
offered by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). within the Department of
Homeland Security.

As the largest investigative agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). ICE is
charged with protecting national security and ensuring public safety through the aggressive
enforcement of federal immigration and customs laws across the more than 3.5 million square
miles that make up our great nation. ICE recognizes, however, that we share the responsibility
of ensuring public safety with over 775,000 state and local law enforcement officers. One way
ICE addresses this joint goal is by building partnerships with state and local law enforcement
agencies (LEAs). To facilitate these partnerships and work more closely with our state and local
counterparts, in 2007 ICE launched the comprehensive Agreements of Cooperation in
Communities to Enhance Safety and Security (ACCESS) program.

ICE ACCESS serves to provide state and local LEAs like yours an opportunity to partner with
ICE to specifically combat the immigration and customs enforcement challenges of their
communities. To accomplish this, ICE ACCESS offers an umbrella of services and programs to
assist local LEAs with interior enforcement issues. The 287(g) program that your letter
referenced is only one such component. Other programs that fall within the purview of ICE
ACCESS include: the Customs Cross-Designation (Title 19), Document and Benefit Fraud Task
Forces, the Law Enforcement Support Center (LESC), Operation Community Shield, the
Criminal Alien Program (CAP), Fugitive Operations, and Rapid Repatriation. For more
infOiTIlation, please find enclosed a copy of the IC E ACCESS Fact Sheet.

It is through strategic discussions and efforts such as these that strong partnerships between state
and local law enforcement agencies and ICE can be developed. Combining Federal, state, and
local resources has proven successful in safeguarding the public. I have requested that the local
ICE ACCESS liaisons coordinate with you to detennine which ICE ACCESS programs will best
meet oUI joint need s. The first step in identifying which programs best suit your CO!'mlunlit~·s
will be to I the "Needs Assessment Tool" that will be sent
. The local of contact for ICE ACCESS are: in the Office o;P:'~'~i~~g~"i
in the Office of Detention and Removal C
JICI,hank you again for your interest in ICE.

Sincerely.

'GjL·
William F. Riley
f1
Acting Executive Director
Office of State and Local Coordination

Enclosure
www.ice.gov