Thread: 1 in 10 detention center inmates ID'd as illegal residents

1 in 10 detention center inmates ID'd as illegal residents, officials say
By Ben Szobody • STAFF WRITER • August 8, 2008

State Sen. Mike Fair told GreenvilleOnline.com this afternoon that Greenville County and local governments throughout the country should be reimbursed by the federal government for the burden of housing illegal residents while they're waiting to be deported, or else "county officials will lose their enthusiasm" for the current crackdown.

Federal immigration and county detention center officials wrapped a three-week operation Thursday night that identified roughly 150 illegal U.S. residents from five countries in the jail, administrator Scott Bodiford told GreenvilleOnline.com this afternoon.

So far, about 40 inmates have been turned over to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials for deportation proceedings, which means they've satisfied their jail terms, Bodiford said.

Meanwhile, the detention center is currently implementing an added facet to its booking process that will identify inmates as illegal residents when they're admitted. That allows federal detainers to be placed on inmates for deportation proceedings once their sentences are satisfied.

That could be decades for some of the illegals inmates identified. One man is in the detention center on double murder charges, Bodiford said. An inmate must serve his entire sentence before being released for deportation, he said, because otherwise violent murders could be sent home and then quickly re-enter the U.S. without serving jail time.

The illegal residents identified in the jail face a host of charges ranging from murder to criminal sexual conduct with a minor to shoplifting, Bodiford said. They come from Mexico, Guatemala, Uruguay, Costa Rica and the United Kingdom.

The daily taxpayer cost to house an inmate is currently $51.78, Bodiford said. Today's jail population count was 1,436.

Fair lauded the new focus on identifying illegal residents soon after they're arrested, but said local governments need reimbursement for the cost of housing them or else the aggressive enforcement efforts will wane.
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pb ... 001/NEWS01

"The illegal residents identified in the jail face a host of charges ranging from murder to criminal sexual conduct with a minor to shoplifting, Bodiford said. They come from Mexico, Guatemala, Uruguay, Costa Rica and the United Kingdom.

"The daily taxpayer cost to house an inmate is currently $51.78, Bodiford said. Today's jail population count was 1,436.

"Fair lauded the new focus on identifying illegal residents soon after they're arrested, but said local governments need reimbursement for the cost of housing them or else the aggressive enforcement efforts will wane."

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What?!!! Is Fair saying he wants to put murderers and criminal sexual offenders back on the streets of North Carolina because the feds aren't paying them $51.78 a day to house them?

"need reimbursement for the cost of housing them or else the aggressive enforcement efforts will wane"



Our country is going insane.