Thread: OR: Immigrant influx hits county jail

Immigrant influx hits county jail

By Rebecca Taylor
The Register-Guard
Published: May 9, 2008 12:00AM

A ramped-up effort to clear illegal immigrants out of Oregon’s prisons and jails is translating into more work for Lane County officials.

Since January, the jail in downtown Eugene has served as a staging area for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which has boosted efforts nationwide to identify and deport illegal immigrants doing time in state prisons and jails, before they are released back into the community.

Busloads of prisoners from other Oregon detention centers are being funneled to the jail en route to a 1,000-bed federal detention facility in Tacoma. Once there, they go before an immigration judge for deportation proceedings.

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the Department of Homeland Security in 2003 combined the former Immigration and Naturalization Service with the U.S. Customs Service, creating ICE, with an aim toward more effectively enforcing immigration and customs laws and protecting the United States against terrorist attacks by targeting illegal immigrants.

Immigration agents already screen all federal and state prisons for illegal immigrants convicted of crimes and make sure they are deported when their sentences are completed. The agency wants to expand its efforts to the country’s 3,100 local jails, which previously were neglected due to federal staffing shortfalls.

The goal, ultimately, is to remove 100 percent of illegal immigrants who have been convicted of crimes in the United States, an effort that would cost between $2 billion and $3 billion per year, according to ICE officials.

To that end, Congress gave the program $200 million in its 2008 appropriations bill, according to information on the ICE Web site — enough to add more agents to screen inmate lists and communicate with local authorities.

The Lane County Jail has always held local inmates for immigration authorities, but the number of inmates from other jails being housed here temporarily has skyrocketed in recent months, thanks to an infusion of funds into the federal Criminal Alien Program and the establishment of a Eugene ICE office.

Lane County Sheriff Russ Burger said that in all of 2007, immigration officials housed 168 inmates at the jail for a total of 213 days, at a cost to the federal government of $14,950. The money pays for housing, food and other care.

But, in January and February of this year alone, immigration authorities held 118 people at the county jail for a total of 179 days at a cost of $15,927.

In the past, the jail booked in one or two immigration inmates a week, but lately the average has grown to five or six, local officials said. The jail routinely receives groups of 20 or more inmates who are held here for a few hours before they move on.

“It’s definitely going up,â€

Thanks Populist.

Right in my own backyard - so to speak.

1. Imagine... An article posted by a user with an avatar of 'Bluto' Blutarsky filmed in the same location as the main theme in the posted article. What a coincidence.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077975/locations

2. Enforcement is a beautiful thing


3. Re:

...Eugene office, although she said it was one of the smaller offices in the Northwest region. Oregon has ICE offices in Eugene, Medford and Portland.

Let me add a request for offices in Woodburn and Umatilla. Adding those would reduce the illegal population greatly over time.

Originally Posted by PhredE

Thanks Populist.

Right in my own backyard - so to speak.

1. Imagine... An article posted by a user with an avatar of 'Bluto' Blutarsky filmed in the same location as the main theme in the posted article. What a coincidence.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077975/locations

That's Senator Blutarsky to you Phred.

Yes, enforcement is a beautiful (and long overdue) thing!

Originally Posted by Populist

Originally Posted by PhredE

Thanks Populist.

Right in my own backyard - so to speak.

1. Imagine... An article posted by a user with an avatar of 'Bluto' Blutarsky filmed in the same location as the main theme in the posted article. What a coincidence.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077975/locations

That's Senator Blutarsky to you Phred.

Yes, enforcement is a beautiful (and long overdue) thing!

ROFLMAO!
Ok, Mr. Senator.

Ooops, forgot to add:

"Toga, Toga, Toga!"

LOL. Great movie.

"repatriation flights"... i need to hear that on my local news, EVERY DAY!!!!