January 11, 2008
Arpaio bars jailed illegals from work release
By Mark Flatten
Tribune


Illegal immigrants are no longer being let out of the county jail during the day to go to work under a policy detailed Thursday by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. He implemented the policy in October but called a news conference Thursday to discuss it because of the current attention on the employer sanctions law.

Arpaio said he has halted work-release programs since it is illegal for businesses to employ those people in Arizona. It makes no sense to allow them out of custody, he said.

Work-release programs are still available to people in the country legally.

The sheriff also slammed front-line police and judges who do not ask the immigration status of people when they are cited for committing crimes and sentenced to jail terms.

The illegal immigrants affected by Arpaio's policy change tend to be those who were cited rather than arrested by police. The citation requires them to appear in front of a judge. Once convicted, the judge sentences the prisoners to jail with terms that can include eligibility for work-release.

Arpaio said those individuals typically are not identified as illegal immigrants until they show up at the jail to begin serving their sentences. Jail officials notify federal immigration officials and put immigration holds on those inmates, Arpaio said.

They are turned over to federal immigration agents for deportation when they finish their sentences, he said.

Generally, people in the programs are those convicted of nonviolent offenses like drunken driving or minor drug crimes, Arpaio said.

Since Arpaio instituted the new policy three months ago, about 160 inmates who otherwise would have been allowed to participate in a work-release program have had their eligibility blocked because of their immigration status, Arpaio said.

Even when a judge orders work-release, the sheriff has the authority to block eligibility when there is a federal immigration hold on the inmate, Arpaio said.

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