Sheriff boasts success in work on illegal immigration
Majority of arrests leading to deportation came from Frederick city police
by Sherry Greenfield | Staff Writer

Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins is proud of the work his department is doing to catch illegal immigrants that commit crimes here.

Since April, deputies have arrested and housed at the detention center 216 immigrants. Of that, 188 have gone through the immigration proceedings for deportation. The majority of those arrests (52.3 percent) have been made by the City of Frederick Police Department. Sheriff's deputies have arrested 31.4 percent.

Most of the illegal immigrants arrested have come from the countries of El Salvador and Mexico, he noted.

Jenkins (R) boasted to Frederick County commissioners on Oct. 16 that his department's partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in cracking down on illegal immigrants who commit crimes is working. The 287G initiative is so successful it has become a model for other counties throughout the United States, Jenkins said.

"We're starting to get calls from all over the country," he said. "We're the sixth sheriff's office in the country to be involved in the 287G program and housing program. People are starting to see the magnitude of the problem. I don't know where they've been."

In February, Jenkins announced that his department was accepted into the federal program that allows deputies to check the immigration status of those they arrest. Jenkins enrolled 26 of his deputies, 16 of whom work at the Frederick County Adult Detention Center. The other 10 are full-time patrol deputies.

In mid-April, deputies started checking the immigration status of everyone taken to the jail, including those arrested by the Brunswick Police Department, Thurmont Police Department, Frederick Police Department and Maryland State Police.

During last week's briefing, Jenkins wanted to answer critics that claim the 287 G program amounts to harassing and rounding up Hispanics.

"Everybody is processed the same way and everybody is treated the same way," he said. "The person has to be arrested for a jail-able offense and brought to the Frederick County Detention Center. The Frederick County Sheriff's Office does not go into the community seeking undocumented aliens."

Jenkins also updated commissioners last week on a program that pays the county to hold illegal immigrants charged with crimes in states across the mid-Atlantic region.

Since July 2007, ICE has been paying the county $83 per day for each illegal immigrant held at the detention center. The average cost to house an inmate at the jail is about $7 per day, which includes food.

From July 2007 to present, 32 detainees have been housed at the detention center, Jenkins said. The county has been paid about $1.2 million in that time.

Commissioner David P. Gray (R) and Board President Jan H. Gardner (D) recently paid a visit to the detention center to see how the immigration programs are working.

"I saw no inkling of discrimination," Gray said.

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