6 Brevard correction officers graduate from immigration training program

BY JOE PAGAN • FLORIDA TODAY • November 14, 2008

Six correction officers with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office have graduated from a four-week training program under the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement program, BCSO Cmdr. Susan Jeter of the Brevard County Detention Center said


Following the graduation, ICE deputized the officers, which allows them to enforce federal immigration law under ICE supervision.

The officers now are trained to identify illegal immigrants for deportation when being booked at the jail complex, Jeter said.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement program allows jail personnel to initiate the deportation process. In the past, it could take days because of fraudulent documents or aliases, Jeter said.

The officers attended the four weeks of training in accordance with a memorandum of agreement between the Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

“This partnership with ICE will allow us to identify illegal aliens in our jail much faster, and move them through the system for deportation much quicker,â€