Sep 22, 12:00 AM EDT

More Oregon arrests ending in deportation

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- The number of criminals referred to immigration authorities has soared in a three-state region that includes Oregon.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman says 7,345 people have been deported from Oregon, Washington and Alaska during the first nine months of the year - a 40-percent increase from the same time last year.

It's unknown how much of the increase can be attributed to Oregon, but several counties have increased their vigilance this year.

In the Portland area, Clackamas, Washington and Multnomah counties now flag all foreign-born inmates, resulting in the referral of hundreds of people to immigration authorities every month.

Clackamas County stepped up its efforts after the July 2007 death of 15-year-old Dani Countryman. The Oregonian reported that the man who did it had not been deported after being arrested for drunk driving nine months before the murder.

"The case played a role in our awareness," said Clackamas County Deputy District Attorney Greg Horner. "It exposed, if not a loophole, an area that frankly we had missed."

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