More than 900 Gwinnett inmates to be deported

More than half had a previous criminal history

By ANDRIA SIMMONS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, February 05, 2009

Federal immigration officials flagged for deportation 915 foreign-born inmates at the Gwinnett County jail during a 26-day surge that ended on Thursday.

Of the inmates identified as being in the country illegally, 489 had a previous criminal history, said Gwinnett County Sheriff Butch Conway.

Officials from the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the results during a joint press conference Thursday at the conclusion of a targeted enforcement effort that began Jan. 12.

Federal immigration officials worked in 15-person teams from 6 a.m. to midnight during that time frame to interview all the inmates and determine their immigration status. The inmates were charged with a range of offenses including murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, theft, traffic violations, and probation violation, said Larry Orton, assistant field officer director for the ICE Criminal Alien Program in Atlanta.

Gwinnett County is still waiting to hear whether it will be accepted into a federal program called 287(g) that would allow local jailers to begin deportation paperwork on criminal aliens, said Conway.

“I would like to see a program like this 24/7 at the Gwinnett County jail,â€