287(g) nabs 2 foreign-born arrestees on first day
By Jared Allen, jallen@nashvillecitypaper.com
April 17, 2007

The long-awaited immigration identification and enforcement program known as 287(g) is now up-and-running in the booking area of the Metro jail, and on its first day of operation, after Metro police arrested two foreign-born persons for low level criminal offenses, Sheriff’s Office personnel identified both persons as being suspected illegal immigrants.

“We were two-for-two,” said Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Karla Crocker.

In addition, another two foreign-born inmates — already incarcerated for criminal activity in Davidson County — on Monday were also identified as having entered the country illegally, Sheriff’s Office officials said Monday afternoon.

Between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday, Metro police physically arrested 45 individuals, bringing each to the Davidson County Criminal Justice Center, officials said.

Two of those 45 were identified as having non-U.S. places of birth.

And those two foreign-born arrestees were the first persons screened — and subsequently identified as illegal entrants — on the “front end” of the criminal justice system; immediately following their arrest and before having a chance to bond out of jail.

None of the identities of those identified as immigration violators was released, according to federal rules now in place in Nashville, said Crocker.

But Crocker did say that both of the individuals identified through the enforcement program were detained, and that deportation proceedings have already begun on both.

Additionally, both were arrested for crimes that previously never were significant enough to capture the attention of federal immigration officials in Vermont, on which Nashville law enforcement officials used to have to wait to hear back from, often with significant delays if they heard back at all.

Crocker said Monday afternoon that both of the individuals screened and identified were arrested for alcohol-related offenses, and both were charged with driving under the influence (DUI) and with driving without a license.

“We are pleased to be up and running,” Crocker said, acknowledging that 287(g) was brought to Nashville specifically to prevent illegal immigrants who commit crimes such as DUI from being released back on the street at the conclusion of their criminal cases.

“You don’t have to look back very far to see that just several DUIs ended up in the tragic death of two individuals, in the case of Gustavo Reyes Garcia,” Crocker said, referring to a serial drunken driver who was never identified as an illegal immigrant until he was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, and whose case was the impetus for the 287(g) program.


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