Thread: Sheriff said he would start driving them to Mexican border

Feds answer on illegals

Sheriff said he would start driving them to Mexican border

By Deborah Frazier, Rocky Mountain News
August 31, 2005

The El Paso County sheriff quickly earned federal immigration officials' attention by warning that he'd start driving undocumented immigrants from his jail to the Mexican border rather than continue to pay for their upkeep, and release some to the streets.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials last week told U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., that they will consider opening a Colorado Springs office to help process the immigrants for deportation.

That's welcome news to county officials, but they say it won't do anything to ease the county's more than $1 million annual cost for housing undocumented immigrants.

"It won't solve the problem, but it will speed up processing and create a push to bring a detention facility," said Jim Bensberg, chairman of the El Paso County commissioners.

"The situation can't get any worse than it is."

El Paso County spent $1.2 million in 2004 to jail illegal immigrants, said Bensberg. This year, the price tag will be higher because the jail is now housing 75 to 100 undocumented workers a day, compared with 50 to 60 last year, he said.

"That's a big chunk of change," said Bensberg, who wrote Allard about the problem. "The county can't afford that."

Sheriff Terry Maketa, who notified ICE and the Mexican consulate that he wanted to drive some of the undocumented inmates to the Mexican border, was out of town Tuesday and unavailable for comment.

But Undersheriff Teri Goodall said about 75 percent of the undocumented inmates face charges ranging from misdemeanor traffic offenses to attempted murder. If they're convicted, they enter the state correction system.

But the other 25 percent are held only as undocumented immigrants and are rarely deported upon release, she said.

ICE has offices in Denver and Pueblo, but the federal detention facilities are usually full. Nationally, ICE has capacity for 19,444 inmates, said Carl Rusnok, ICE's communication director. Denver and most Colorado towns also house hundreds of illegal immigrants for ICE.

ICE is notified each time an undocumented inmate is processed. ICE picks up only five or six inmates a week, Goodall said. Those who don't face charges are released after 72 hours, she said.

Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., an outspoken critic of federal immigration enforcement policy, praised the sheriff's position.

"If ICE continues to ignore local law enforcement's demand that it does its job, more and more responsible sheriffs will be forced to shoulder the burden of the illegal immigration crisis," Tancredo said.

El Paso County, with 565,000 residents, has about 30,000 undocumented workers. Goodall and Bensberg said the county is not trying to enforce immigration law.

"The number that concerns me are the ones that commit crimes," said Bensberg. "That's the only issue I am focusing on. The larger immigration issue is for experts."

Federal grants reimbursed the county $180,000 for the jail costs in 2004, said Goodall.

"It shouldn't be up to the county. This is an issue of federal jurisdiction," said Goodall.

Allard won a commitment Friday from ICE to open an office in Colorado Springs, Colorado's second- largest city.

"If, instead of releasing illegal immigrants back into the community, ICE resources were allocated to facilitate deportation, return visits would be prevented and the taxpayers of El Paso County would realize significant savings," Allard said.

Rusnok said the proposed ICE office in Colorado Springs is in "the infancy stage." The office has yet to be approved by Congress, he said and opening the office could still be years away.

By the numbers

$43 million El Paso County sheriff's budget

$180,000 received in federal reimbursement for housing illegal immigrants in 2004

$1.2 millon Annual cost of holding illegal immigrants, criminal and non-criminal, in the El Paso County Jail

80-100 Average daily population of illegal immigrants in the El Paso County Jail in 2005.

30,000 undocumented workers reside in El Paso County, which has 565,000 residents.

Source: El Paso County Sheriff's Office

http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state ... %2C00.html

I can see an anti illegal group providing prison busses to drive illegal aliens to the Mexican border perhaps with an ACLU observer on board.

Outstanding job, Sheriff Terry Maketa Now what would it take for us to get you to run for a higher office

Originally Posted by Richard

I can see an anti illegal group providing prison busses to drive illegal aliens to the Mexican border perhaps with an ACLU observer on board.

Heck I've love to see the ACLU deported too.

added to homepage

http://www.alipac.us/article678.html

My hero. I'm surprised that the sheriff in Az. who makes all his inmates wear pink underwear and watch the Disney Channel (is his name Joe Arapiao or something like that) didn't beat this guy to it.