Thread: Ky. Fayette targeting locked-up illegal immigrants

Fayette targeting locked-up illegal immigrants


The Associated Press
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http://www.kentucky.com

LEXINGTON, Ky. --Fayette County prosecutors are actively targeting possible illegal immigrants who are in custody and accused of felonies and turning their information over to federal authorities.

Ten people have been identified already and their information has been sent to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, Fayette Commonwealth's attorney Ray Larson said.

"We're hoping to deter people from committing crimes who are not in this country legally," Larson told the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Local officials in Fayette County are joining authorities elsewhere in targeting potential illegal immigrants who get in trouble with the law. Gov. Ernie Fletcher announced in late September he was asking federal authorities to let Kentucky take part in federal efforts to deport illegal immigrants convicted of crimes. Several other states are also taking hold of the issue.

For the year ending last September, the federal government reported 195,000 deportations, of which 88,600 were criminals.

Fayette County jail officials have not actively sought out potential illegal immigrants and forwarded their information to immigration officials.

Larson said his office should have begun forwarding such information to immigration officials earlier. Larson said it's reasonable to think that someone who is booked on a felony charge might be an illegal immigrant if his or her Social Security number starts with the sequence "999" and has a birthplace not in the United States.

Immigration officials decide whether to put an immigration detainer on someone, a move that prompts deportation proceedings after the person serves his or her sentence, Larson said. That detainer could remain on a person even if he or she is acquitted, said Tim Counts an ICE spokesman based in Minnesota, said.

"We're always interested in getting leads, no matter what the source is," Counts said.

But local officials are not always properly trained to correctly identify a person's immigration status, Amy Duncliffe, a Georgetown attorney, said. Duncliffe said she's had two clients who were arrested and incorrectly suspected of having fake Social Security numbers.

"It may eventually get straightened out, but they will spend extra time in jail," Duncliffe said. "You can wipe out a person's life if they spend a week in jail."


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Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com

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Social Security number starts with the sequence "999" and has a birthplace not in the United States.










LOL........now just watch and see what happens. By next week we'll be hearing that people are being "numerically profiled" or some similarly ridiculous term.