July 14, 2009

Change coming to immigration enforcement
ICE will prioritize inmates according to crime
By Stephen Gurr

Federal homeland security officials are revamping a local-federal immigration enforcement program with new guidelines, but Hall County Sheriff Steve Cronic doesn’t expect a lot of immediate changes in how his agency processes people in jail who are in the country illegally.


Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the changes Friday, four months after a government report that criticized the program for lacking consistency and clear goals.


The program, known commonly as 287(g), has been used by the Hall County Sheriff’s Office since April 2008. An average of 85 people who are booked into the Hall County jail each month are processed for deportation by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, and more than 1,000 illegal immigrants arrested on criminal charges have been turned over to ICE since the program began.


Each of the more than 60 law enforcement agencies across the country that operate 287(g) will get new memorandums of agreement with ICE within the next 90 days, Department of Homeland Security spokesman Matthew Chandler said.


“The purpose is to present our partners with a uniform set of standards when implementing the 287(g) program,â€