ICE Officials to Work with Sheriff on Jail Overcrowding
YouNewsTV™
Story Published: Apr 5, 2008 at 7:53 PM PDT

By Rudabeh Shahbazi


PENDLETON-- Sheriff John Trumbo has long raised issues about the underfunded and overcrowded Umatilla County Jail.

He says too many illegal immigrants are being locked up at the expense of Oregon taxpayers.

Trumbo sent letters to Presidents George Bush and Vicente Fox, urging them to better regulate the US-Mexico border.

Trumbo says come here legally and live a good life, but he has a problem with people skirting the system, and draining it.

"If they've entered this country legally, with the intent of bettering themselves and their families and becoming proactive citizens, I think that's great," he said.

But that's not the Sheriff's problem. He thinks criminals come to rural eastern Oregon hoping to stay below the radar.

"This area has the potential to have criminals come here because we don't have a lot of law enforcement in this area," said Trumbo. "The Sheriff's office is down in man power-- all agencies are down in man power. That doesn't go unnoticed by criminals."

As a result, he says, illegal aliens come here to run drug rings, traffic child porn, and worse. Trumbo says last year the jail lodged five murder suspects-- all of whom had been deported before.

Action News crunched the numbers. Right now, there are nine illegal immigrants in custody, on charges ranging from drugs, to sex crimes, to running from the police.

Since the beginning of this year, 43 illegal immigrants have taken up 159 bed days in the Umatilla County Jail, costing the county more than $110,000 in just a few months.

"That puts a real financial burden on the local citizens, and if we had those 159 bed days that have been dedicated to illegal immigrants, that are here committing crimes-- if we would have those beds available to some of our local people, it would have solved some of our problems," he said.

Trumbo never heard back from the president of Mexico, but he received two replies from President Bush, informing him of programs Umatilla County is eligible for, and offering funding and training opportunities. The Sheriff says he is pleased with the response.

"I think that exceeded what my expectations were," he said, noting that a larger network of law enforcement can tie local criminals with interstate and international organized crime operations.

Trumbo says he's planning to meet with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials this summer to discuss the possibilities.

http://www.kimatv.com/news/local/17280499.html