An Analysis of 287(g) Program Adoption and Support for Sanctuary Policies

Much attention has been paid to sanctuary policies and local-level immigration enforcement recently. Still, there is a dearth of scholarship on why specific policies are pursued at the local and state levels. This study examined the theoretical conditions that produce anti-sanctuary policies at the state-level and 287(g) program membership. QCA analyses revealed that demographic and political conditions, alongside increases in violent crime, were the most salient causal conditions for explaining the adoption of anti-sanctuary policies. However, these same conditions were poorly explained adopting the 287(g) program. States that experienced significant increases in their Hispanic population alongside either increases in Republican voting during presidential campaigns or increases in violent crime were conjunctive and sufficient explanations of states adopting anti-sanctuary policies. This provides support for the ethnic and racial threat hypothesis as well as evidence as to the role of politics in formulating local immigration enforcement decisions.