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Friday, February 24, 2006
Illegal immigrants crowding local jails

The Riverside County Sheriff says illegal immigrants are crowding local jails. Tonight, in a NewsChannel 3 investigation, we take a closer look at the problem.

They're walking right out of local jails. Even one man convicted of drunk driving. Sheriff's say a major reason is the number of illegal immigrants crowding county jails.

There is no exact count, but sheriffs estimate that 15 % in jail are undocumented.

“We had an opportunity after 9/11 to close out border and we didn't do it. And for whatever reason, we didn't do it. And until we get a handle on our border situation, it's not going to diminish.”

The sheriffs say that dealing with illegal immigrants in jail clog the system. But Palm Springs immigration advocate Karan Kler says blaming undocumented workers, who he says are stereotyped as criminals, is a police scare tactic.

“Blame the undocumented worker who's not going to say a word, who doesn't have representation and you can get a win and get money from the federal government.”

Letting out nearly thirty convicted criminals a week, the sheriffs are asking for more resources before more have to be released.

“We're training some of our people through the border patrol, through ice to make them available to do the interview on the jail and to pick up the slack and to ensure that when their time is up, they can be deported.”

Problems of criminals walking out early to make room for undocumented immigrants can't be solved quickly. Only more jails or closed borders may stand a chance of being a solution.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is now asking state lawmakers for a four billion dollar grant to build more local jails. The situation is so bad, some criminals never even step foot in jail because there's no where to put them.