Sheriff: 25% Of Inmates Are Undocumented Immigrants
Reported by: Christopher Sign
Email: csign@abc15.com
Last Update: 2/11 11:38 pm
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A seven-month-long internal Maricopa County Jail investigation obtained by ABC15 News reveals the number of undocumented immigrants booked into the jail.

Consider it an "inmate audit".

According to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, 40,000 new inmates went through secondary screening after being turned over to county custody.

Of the 40,000 inmates, close to 10,000 were undocumented immigrants.

"That's about 25% of all inmates booked into the jail that are here illegally," said Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

160 Maricopa County deputies and detention officers trained by the Department of Homeland Security use federal computers inside the jail to determine every inmate's legal status.

"Since the cops in various cities will not ask during the course of their duties on the street whether someone is illegal or not, all they have to do is book them into our jail and we will investigate," said Arpaio.

Deputies say during the secondary screening they have found fake names and repeat offenders.

"We put holds on them (undocumented immigrants) so they can't get back on the streets to commit more crimes," Arpaio said.

Maricopa County is the second largest jail system in the country.

Sheriff's Detention officers interview an average of 1,100 inmates regarding their residency status each day.

A more in-depth investigation involving illegal immigration and crime is expected to be released by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office later this week.

http://www.abc15.com/news/local/story.a ... 059f508e02