Associated Press - August 28, 2007 7:45 PM ET

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Police in the rural Virginia counties where immigrant gangs are spreading don't know how to recognize many members as illegal aliens, or where to report them.

That's what speakers told the Virginia State Crime Commission's Illegal Immigration Task Force today.

Officials from the nonprofit Center for Immigration Studies say federal authorities are depending on local-level identification of illegal immigrants. But they have no plan to finance training on things like recognizing phony Social Security cards and using national immigration databases.

The group also offered lawmakers and Latino community leaders blunt statistics -- the Washington/Virginia area ranked third in the nation for federal illegal immigrant gang arrests in March.

They urged special training on things like illegal immigration law.

The task force will issue recommendations this fall.

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