Thread: 125 new NC inmates face deportation under new program

125 new NC inmates face deportation under new program
By Mike Baker
Associated Press

More than 100 new North Carolina inmates face deportation under a program launched in July that checks the immigration status of those entering the prison system, officials said Thursday.

Secretary of Correction Theodis Beck, in a letter to U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick, said the state is now immediately steering possible illegals entering the system to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

"All inmates who cannot prove American citizenship are referred to an ICE agent on duty," Beck wrote in the letter dated Aug. 31. "The ICE agent, after an initial interview, conducts an investigation to determine if the inmate is deportable."

Deportation proceedings can begin soon after, Beck wrote. The secretary said ICE agents are now physically present at the state's four largest admission centers a few days each week and visit smaller centers if necessary.

Since July, 125 new inmates - or about 2.5 percent of those admitted - have been served with deportation detainers, said Keith Acree, a spokesman with the Department of Correction. Another 10 inmates who were already in the prison have also been identified.

Acree also said 785 inmates in the system already had deportation detainers before the new program began. Previous checks, however, were "piecemeal," Acree said.

(Imagine all of the illegal alien crimes that were not reported as such in the local paper)

"We're now screening everyone that comes in through the front door," Acree said.

Myrick, R-N.C., asked the state last month to use initial screenings to check the immigration status of inmates. Andy Polk, a spokesman for Myrick, said Thursday that while the state program is a start, it can still allow illegals to slip by.

Polk said North Carolina should provide immigration training to prison officers and provide the officers with fingerprint scanners, access to immigration databases and other tools to help determine an inmate's status.

Beck, however, said that the state system is the most efficient by ensuring that corrections officers are able to "focus on the job for which they were hired and trained to do."

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs ... late=apart

this level of staffing needs to happen nation wide. even in "Sanctuary states". Bring it on in Colorado.