Thread: Fresno County CA. joins I.C.E. Secure Communities Program

I.C.E. News Release

March 23, 2010

Fresno County to benefit from ICE strategy to enhance the identification, removal of criminal aliens

Now the criminal and immigration records of all local arrestees to be checked

FRESNO, Calif. - On Tuesday, law enforcement agencies in Fresno County began employing a new information-sharing capability that modernizes the process used to accurately identify criminal aliens in the community.

Developed by the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Homeland Security (DHS), the information-sharing capability is the cornerstone of Secure Communities, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initiative to enhance efforts to identify and remove criminal aliens from the United States.

Previously, local arrestees' fingerprints were taken and checked for criminal history information against the DOJ biometric system maintained by the FBI. With this new information-sharing capability, that fingerprint information will now be simultaneously checked against both FBI criminal history records and the biometrics-based immigration records maintained by DHS.

If any fingerprints match those of someone in DHS's biometric system, the new automated process notifies ICE, enabling the agency to take appropriate action to ensure criminal aliens are not released back into communities. Top priority is given to individuals who pose a threat to public safety, such as those with prior convictions for major drug offenses, murder, rape, robbery and kidnapping.

"Secure Communities provides local law enforcement with an effective tool to identify criminal aliens," said Secure Communities Executive Director David Venturella. "Enhancing public safety is at the core of ICE's mission. Our goal with Secure Communities is to use biometric information sharing to prevent criminal aliens from being released back into the community, with little or no additional burden on our law enforcement partners."

With the expansion of the information-sharing capability to Fresno County, there are now 13 California jurisdictions using this tool, including Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Diego, Imperial, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Sacramento, Sonoma, Solano, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties. Across the country, 121 jurisdictions in 16 states have this capability. By 2013, ICE expects to make Secure Communities available nationwide.

"The Fresno County Sheriff's Office has always worked closely with ICE in an effort to identify criminal aliens booked into our jail," said Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims. "This new technology will allow us to identify criminal aliens in a more timely fashion without extra staffing or funding. It will strengthen our partnership with ICE and bolster our commitment to keeping the citizens of Fresno County safe."

Since its inception in October 2008, Secure Communities has identified more than 18,800 aliens charged with or convicted of Level 1 crimes, such as murder, rape and kidnapping - more than 4,000 of those individuals have already been removed from the United States. Most of the criminal aliens who have been identified but not yet removed are completing their sentences. Additionally, ICE has removed more than 24,700 aliens charged with or convicted of Level 2 and 3 crimes, including burglary and serious property crimes, which account for 90 percent of the crimes committed by aliens.

Secure Communities is part of DHS's comprehensive plan to distribute technology that links local law enforcement agencies to both FBI and DHS biometric systems. DHS's US VISIT Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) holds biometrics-based immigration records, while the FBI's Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) contains biometrics-based criminal records.

"US VISIT is proud to support ICE, helping provide decision makers with comprehensive, reliable information when and where they need it," said US VISIT Director Robert Mocny. "By enhancing the interoperability of DHS's and the FBI's biometric systems, we are able to give federal, state and local decision makers information that helps them better protect our communities and our nation."

"Under this plan, ICE will be utilizing FBI system enhancements that allow improved information sharing at the state and local law enforcement level based on positive identification of incarcerated criminal aliens," said Daniel D. Roberts, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division. "Additionally, ICE and the FBI are working together to take advantage of the strong relationships already forged between the FBI and state and local law enforcement necessary to assist ICE in achieving its goals."

For more information, visit www.ice.gov.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

ICE comprises four integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities. For more information, visit www.ICE.gov. To report suspicious activity, call 1-866-347-2423.

Last Modified: Tuesday, March 23, 2010
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1003/100323fresno.htm

California Counties in The Secure Communities Program

2009
San Diego
Los Angeles
Imperial
Ventura

Santa Barbara 1/2010
San Luis Obispo 1/2010
Sacramento 1/12/2010
Solano 1/12/2010
San Joaquin 2/16/2010
Stanislaus 2/16/2010
Sonoma 3/ 2/ 2010
Orange 3/16/2010
Fresno 3/ 23/ 2010

They really need this as they have major gang problems. Police were able at one time to stop and check possible gang members for drugs, weapons violations, etc. but that had to stop after the ACLU got invovled. Now the poor residents have to live in fear to go outside let alone walk down the street.

Half of Fresno county jails population are illegals.