US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has launched a toll-free hotline for individuals detained for being illegal immigrants by state and local law enforcement agencies, the agency announced today.

Detainees who "believe they may be US citizens or victims of a crime" may call (855) 448-6903 to talk to ICE personnel who “will collect information from the individual and refer it to the relevant ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Field Office for immediate action,” the agency said in a press release.

The hotline will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with translation services in several languages provided from 7 am until midnight EST, the agency said.

The program is designed to curb abuses occurring under the federal government’s 287(g) program which, since 1996, has empowered scores of state and local police agencies to enforce federal immigration law with controversial results, Reuters reported.

According to the Los Angeles Times:

Immigrant rights groups say the program has led to civil rights violations and racial profiling, and such authority has been especially controversial in Arizona. There, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has been criticized for what many people call mistreatment of suspected illegal immigrants.

Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, told the LA Times that the new hotline was “a positive development,” but “overdue” and “inadequate.” Saenz said: “It relies on the individuals being detained to have the courage, knowledge and wherewithal to make a call to the hotline and follow up. They may feel intimidated or unable to adequately navigate their case.”

More from GlobalPost: Mexicans cry foul over US immigration law

