Thread: GA: Contract ups time, reimbursement for holding IAs

Contract ups time, reimbursement for holding illegal immigrants
By TOM OPDYKE

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Cobb County’s new contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement increases the time illegal immigrants can be held in the county jail from 48 hours to 72 before they are picked up by federal authorities.

It also ups the daily reimbursement to $42 from an average $20.

The contract, approved Tuesday night by the County Commission, is in addition to an earlier pact that gave jailers the ability to begin deportation proceedings against arrested illegal immigrants with two misdemeanors or one felony.

Last year, Cobb turned over to immigration about 3,000 illegal immigrants arrested on other charges and received about $61,000 from the federal government for temporarily housing the suspects until they were transferred to federal custody.

Advocates for immigrants have criticized Cobb and two other Georgia counties for working with the federal immigration authorities to train jailers in how to screen detainees for their immigration status and begin deportation proceedings.

The critics contend the programs fostered by federal immigration authorities lead to profiling of Hispanics and that minor charges can be used as a pretext for jailing a suspect while the suspect’s immigration status is checked.

Sheriff’s Col. Don Bartlett said the new contract sets a specific daily reimbursement fee for the time a suspect is held on immigration charges after serving a county sentence for other crimes or posting bond.

“We should pick up additional revenue,â€

We see once again that fighting illegal immigration on the local level is working and the feds are starting to co-operate at a never before seen level. Keep up the pressure calls, faxes, emails letters to the local news.
I see more and more great comments placed by Alipacers at the newspaper sites. You guys rock