Thread: O.C. CA. Jails want more immigrant, federal inmates

Published: March 22, 2011
Updated: 2:55 p.m.

Jails want more immigrant, federal inmates

By SALVADOR HERNANDEZ
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SANTA ANA – An additional 500 immigration detainees and federal inmates could be housed in county jails this year, as sheriff's officials consider leasing more space to federal agencies to supplement their budget.

More than 800 immigration detainees are already housed locally, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are asking the county to increase that number to 1,400. At the same time, the Orange County Sheriff's Department has been negotiating with the U.S. Marshals Service to house federal prisoners in the central jail in Santa Ana. About 300 federal inmates might be kept there.

The proposals come after jail personnel were caught off-guard by the health-care services that are required for ICE detainees, including a full health assessment that must be completed on each detainee within 14 days, according to sheriff's officials.

Several protocols had to be changed to meet the new health-care demands by the federal government, but sheriff's officials said they are now better able to keep even more ICE detainees and perhaps prisoners from the Marshals Service.

"It caught them a little off-guard," said Capt. Mike Kruger, who heads the central jail complex in Santa Ana.

According to the Sheriff's Department, ICE has requested 1,400 beds in O.C. jails. However, the department will likely be able to handle only 1,048 immigrant detainees, Kruger said.

"We believe that's the housing we have available," he said.

Sheriff's officials are also negotiating a plan to jail more than 300 more federal inmates, which would put the total number of beds being leased to federal agencies at about 1,400.

According to report by the Sheriff's Department, the jails used overtime and canceled scheduled time off in order to meet the additional demands of the ICE detainees. The county Health Care Agency has hired 27 additional people to meet the increased workload, and eight more positions are possible.

"Health care providers have been impacted with the additional contractual requirement to provide a full health assessment to each detainee by the 14th day of detainment," the report reads. "These health assessments have accounted for more than 2,000 additional patient encounters since the implementation of the program."

"This increased need was unexpected," the report reads. "Since the program has been in operation, it has been observed that many ICE detainees are in need of frequent contact by mental health professionals for issues of depression and anxiety, resulting from not only their incarceration, but also the uncertainty of their immigration status."

With the additional staffing and new services to all inmates – including the need to restrict mingling of genders, classification and detention status between inmates – sheriff officials have been able to meet the demands, Kruger said.

Despite the initial difficulties, county jails all received "acceptable" ratings during an inspection by federal officials in October.

From August 2010 to January 2011, the Sheriff's Department has billed $10.1 million for its agreement with ICE. More than $21.4 million is expected to be billed by the end of the 2011 fiscal year. The additional revenue has helped a department that has seen budget cuts and layoffs in recent years.

Sheriff's officials have been able to lease empty bed space at county jails because of a drop in the number of county inmates in past years. Including ICE detainees, the jail population is at about 5,700, according to the report.

Officials have seen the number of inmates rise slightly recently and are now planning to open a compound within the James A. Musick jail near Irvine that had once been closed to save money. That would make an additional 360 beds available, Kruger said.

The current contract with ICE has been an important source of revenue for the Sheriff's Department, but officials are also keeping an eye on state budget negotiations, and a plan that could cut off the revenue the county has been receiving from ICE.

State officials have been mulling over a plan to send state prisoners to county jails to save money.

If state officials go through with that plan, the revenue from ICE and Marshals Service contracts could disappear. "We don't know what the state has in mind," Kruger said.

The county Board of Supervisors could decide on a new contract with ICE and the Marshals Service next month.

Contact the writer: shernandez@ocregister.com or 949-454-7361

http://www.ocregister.com/news/official ... eriff.html

Heck if jails want more illegals to be held for deportation I am sure any community would be more than willing to supply them with more than they want.