Thread: Duval jail partnership will speed up deporting felons illega

Duval jail partnership will speed up deporting felons illegally in country
Posted: Friday, September 19th, 2008 at 6:28 pm

Illegal aliens with past criminal records won’t be able to skirt past the Duval County jail any longer.

Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford introduced a partnership during a news conference this afternoon between the jail and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement designed to identify illegal aliens with felony records in other countries.

The partnership, which Rutherford said is only enacted in the jail post-arrest on felony charges, gives detention officers access to federal databases on illegal-alien felons and the authority to deport them without waiting for immigration agents.

Rutherford said the initiative cuts out the need for immigration officials to check the records of inmates and determine which felons are in the country illegally. He said the former process sometimes took so long that these felons served their time and were released back into the community before Immigration and Customs was able to determine their illegal status.

A team of 10 trained officers for the computer systems will be stationed in the jail once the equipment is installed, said Jail Chief Tara Wildes.

Matt Coleman


http://news.jacksonville.com/justin/200 ... n-country/

Great news. This should have been done automatically since 1986.

Video: Local Officers Train With ICE To Target Criminals In U.S. Illegally


New Crime-Fighting Program Targets Illegal Immigrant Felons

POSTED: 5:26 pm EDT September 19, 2008
UPDATED: 10:11 pm EDT September 19, 2008


JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville officers have begun joining forces with deputies from around the state to train for a new crime-fighting program aimed at combating crimes committed by illegal immigrants.

Currently, suspects booked into the Duval County Jail are subjected to a local background check and officers cannot determine whether someone is an illegal immigrant. However, that is expected to change because of a partnership between the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, several correctional officers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

On Friday, Sheriff John Rutherford stood with the newly trained corrections officers. Soon the group will do background checks on felons who are booked into the jail to determine if the suspect is in the country illegally.

"Our certified officers will then be able to begin processing them for detention and deportation, depending on the criteria they meet, and will help reduce the threat they can return to street and commit more violent acts here in Jacksonville," Rutherford said.

Currently, when suspects are booked into the jail, their background check doesn't deal with their immigration status. Instead, ICE has to make a visit to the jail to run federal background checks.

According to the sheriff, sometimes before ICE runs the checks, the person in question has already been released.

"We want the community, particularly the illegal immigrant community, to understand that this program is to protect them. It's not to target them. Now, if they commit a violent felony and get arrested, yes we are going to target them," Rutherford said.

The 287g program has been controversial among the immigrant community. Police officer and Chairman of the Mayor's Hispanic America Advisory Council Nelson Cuba said he has a lot of concerns.

"Now, (they) will be too afraid to come forward and report when they're victims of crimes or witnesses to crimes. So, what will that create within the community? Now, we have a silent community and the crimes against these individuals will most certainly increase then," Cuba said.

The sheriff said the new training does not affect the people who may be living in Jacksonville illegally but who aren’t committing crimes. He said he wanted to reassure people that the immigration status of witnesses or victims will not come into question.


http://www.news4jax.com/news/17515574/detail.html

I'm going to say this for the nth time: There are a lot of federal felonies that are not even being prosecuted these days. Tax evasion is very common, also Selective Service non-registration, various IRCA violations, etc. I'm sure I have only touched the surface. Thanks to these agencies for their fine work; a little more digging would unearth felonious conduct on many more.

Same OLD tired excuses from the illegals and their advocates who are making money off of them. BORING.