UC San Diego

This thesis analyzes immigration enforcement and detention in San Diego County and North Carolina, using ethnographic interviews, local media, public records, and other data. It finds that immigration enforcement practices historically confined to the border are in many ways moving into the interior, largely through local law enforcement collaborations with federal immigration officials. This analysis argues that both regions see expanding local law enforcement collaboration with federal immigration agencies. Secure Communities in both regions, Operation Stonegarden in San Diego County, and 287 g in North Carolina support this argument. It also finds that enforcement in each region occurs as a "patchwork". The patchwork results in part from varied local responses to immigration and the ongoing dialectics between local, state, and federal policy realms. The paper demonstrates this "patchwork" through analyses of contrasting 287 g partnerships in Wake and Durham Counties in North Carolina, varied patterns of local law enforcement referrals to the Border Patrol in San Diego County, and Operation Joint Effort, a unique enforcement collaboration between the Escondido Police Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The thesis situates enforcement Immigration enforcement