JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMOX) -- An elite group of Missouri troopers has turned over nearly 500 illegal immigrants to the federal government since 2007.
The federal government is allowing 18 Missouri troopers to do their work for them: catch illegal immigrants and turn them over. A Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesperson says troopers have caught 474 people in the country illegally since 2007.
That was the year former Gov. Matt Blunt ordered troopers to do an immigration check on everyone they arrested. The order has since become state law. Last month the highway patrol signed new, so-called 287(g) agreements with the Department of Homeland Security to continue the process.
The troopers receive special training as immigration officers. After making an arrest and finding a person is here illegally, troopers refer the case to the feds. But the Eastern Missouri ACLU says the program is dangerous, saying it takes local law enforcement away from the job it's already supposed to be doing. Program Director John Chasnoff says he also fears troopers will engage in racial profiling."There are natural stereotypes that are going to come to his mind as he's envisioning how to enforce that law."
Missouri State Highway Patrol Lieutenant John Hotz says there's a system in place to prevent this: "We actually fill out information and it is submitted as part of the Highway Patrol's racial profiling statistics."
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