More than 6,000 illegal immigrants found in local jails

EDWARD SIFUENTES - esifuentes@nctimes.com
November 12, 2009 9:55 pm

The federal Secure Communities Initiative has identified more than 6,700 illegal immigrants in custody in San Diego County jails since it began here six months ago, immigration officials said Thursday.

Of those, more than 800 had been charged with or convicted of major offenses, such as murder or rape. The rest were charged with other crimes, such as theft or robbery, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

Nationwide, the initiative has identified more than 111,000 criminal illegal immigrants in local custody during its first year of operation.

Under the program, authorities automatically check the digital fingerprints of individuals arrested and booked at the local level against the Department of Homeland Security's "biometrics-based" immigration records in addition to FBI databases, which allows ICE to take action to ensure that dangerous criminals are not released back into communities, officials said.

Posted in Sdcounty on Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:55 pm |

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