Gwinnett Sheriff: Give me more money, I'll enforce immigration laws
By ANDRIA SIMMONS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/20/08

Gwinnett County Sheriff Butch Conway says he will start enforcing federal immigration laws by deporting illegal immigrants housed at the jail if the county commission gives him enough money to hire 18 more deputies.

Conway says he would be willing to join a U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement program that trains deputies to begin deportation proceedings for undocumented immigrants.

The sheriff had been engaged in a public spat with Commission Chairman Charles Bannister in recent weeks over whether joining the program was feasible.

"It seems that the chairman is willing to fund it, and I'm certainly willing to go forward with it," Conway said. "But he's got to put his money where his mouth is."

About 39,000 people are booked into the Gwinnett County Detention Center each year, more than 12,000 of whom are foreign-born, Conway said. It's unclear how many of the foreign-born inmates are in the country illegally.

Immigration is a hot-button issue this year, and both men are up for re-election in November.

Bannister prodded the sheriff to "get with the program" last month and commit to putting deputies through the federal training. Bannister issued a press release saying he will propose a resolution at next Tuesday's commission meeting urging the sheriff to take action.

Bannister could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

"It's a pretty common-sense measure that I think will gain a lot of support, especially with the sheriff's renewed interest in it," said Jeremy Brand, Bannister's campaign manager.

Georgia law only requires jails to check residency status of foreign-born inmates charged with a felony or driving under the influence. The ICE program trains deputies to check the residency status of all foreign-born inmates, regardless of their crime.

Conway was initially skeptical about making any commitments that would require deputies to do more work. The department was already laboring under a severe staffing shortage.

Then in January, the commission approved an across-the-board pay increase for deputies of 4 to 5 percent. With better pay to entice hiring prospects, Conway hopes he can now fill most of the 40 vacancies in coming months. Conway says he looked at how the ICE program has been implemented elsewhere to determine how many additional deputies were needed to make it work in Gwinnett.

Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren became the first sheriff in Georgia to initiate the ICE program in 2007. It has since been gaining in popularity, according to ICE spokeswoman Pat Reilly. Other in-state participants include a select group of state troopers and officers with the GBI and Department of Public Safety.

A GROWING FORCE

Number of local and state law enforcement agents trained to enforce federal immigration laws.

2005 β€” 27

2006 β€” 88

2007 β€” 426

Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

GWINNETT COUNTY JAIL

2,617: Current jail population (as of noon Wednesday)

39,223: Total number of inmates booked into the jail in 2007

12,000: Approximate number of foreign-born inmates booked into the jail in 2007

360: Number of inmates released to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation in 2007

127: Number of inmates being held for ICE investigation

Source: Gwinnett County Sheriff's Department
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