L.A. County inmates to have immigration status checked as part of new program
Posted on Friday, August 28 @ 01:04:07 EDT
Topic: immigration and customs enforcement
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 All inmates booked into jails throughout Los
Angeles County will have their immigration status checked beginning
today, but federal officials said they don’t have the resources to
deport all illegal immigrants with criminal records who are identified.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement will prioritize illegal
immigrants with prior convictions for violent crimes, including murder,
rape, kidnapping and robbery. Though immigration officials plan to
assess every case individually, they said some with less serious
criminal records may be released back into the community.
Topics = Illegal Immigration, Los Angeles County jails, check immigration status, Immigration and Customs Enforcement
August 27, 2009
Anna Gorman
Los Angeles Times
“The reality of the situation is that we don’t
presently have the resources to respond to every single person,” agency
head John Morton said during a recent visit to Los Angeles. “We are
focusing on the worst of the worst.”
Morton said the issue is “something we are going to need to work out with the Congress and the administration.”
The Secure Communities program began last fall and is now in nearly
80 counties, including Ventura and San Diego. The government plans to
have it up and running in all jails and prisons by the end of 2013. The
program is part of the administration’s focus on targeting illegal
immigrants who have criminal records.
Nationwide, about 12% of all inmates checked were here illegally
and had prior criminal convictions. Of those, about 6,700 had been
convicted of violent crimes. Another roughly 60,000 had other criminal
convictions.
In Los Angeles County, more than 40 law enforcement agencies will run
inmates’ fingerprints through federal databases during the booking
process to see if the inmates have had any contact with the immigration
system.
Immigration officials will then determine the inmates’ immigration
status, check the criminal record and place holds on those with a prior
conviction of a serious crime.
Once those inmates finish serving their time, they will be transferred to immigration custody for possible deportation.
If inmates have been previously deported or have outstanding orders,
they also will be subject to removal, said Trey Lund, field office
director of detention and removal operations for ICE in Los Angeles.
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration
Studies, said Secure Communities is a good program but has limitations
because of lack of detention beds.
“By not increasing detention space, the administration seems to be
suggesting that it is not all that serious about it,” he said. “When
illegal immigrants are identified, it is preferable that we don’t just
let them go.”
Immigration officials said that the new screening process avoids
concerns about racial profiling because every inmates’ fingerprints are
checked.
“In a nut shell, it takes the guess work out of it,” Lund said.
But Joan Friedland of the National Immigration Law Center said she
is concerned about the racial profiling that occurs before booking.
Friedland also said she doesn’t trust that Immigration and Customs
Enforcement will only deport those with serious criminal convictions.
Anecdotal evidence from counties using Secure Communities shows that people are being deported based on minor crimes, she said.
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