Thread: CA: Extension sought by Inland counties for screening of ill

Extension sought by Inland counties for screening of illegal immigrants


10:00 PM PDT on Sunday, October 25, 2009

By DAVID OLSON
The Press-Enterprise

The Riverside and San Bernardino County sheriff's departments are working to extend agreements to help the federal government identify illegal immigrants in county jails for possible deportation.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department has reached an agreement and sent it to the county Board of Supervisors for a final vote. The Riverside County sheriff's office is still negotiating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Some immigrant-advocacy groups have criticized the program, saying it leads to deportation of people who commit minor offenses. Inland sheriff's officials say the program, dubbed 287(g) after the section of the 1996 law that authorized it, helps prevent dangerous illegal immigrants from returning to the Inland area to commit crimes.

"This is an extremely effective and appropriate program that keeps violent criminals off the streets and puts another barrier in place so they can't victimize our citizens," said Riverside County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Steve Thetford.

Under 287(g), local law enforcement officers are trained by ICE to screen jail inmates or, in some locales, crime suspects on the street, for immigration status. Riverside and San Bernardino counties screen only jail inmates.

If the sheriff's department employee believes after an interview that the inmate is in the country illegally, the inmate is referred to ICE for further questioning. The two counties have participated in 287(g) since 2006.

Riverside County flagged 1,321 inmates for ICE interviews in the fiscal year ending June 30, Thetford said. Only inmates at the downtown Riverside jail -- about a third of the county's inmates -- are screened.

San Bernardino County flagged 2,359 inmates in 2008 and referred 2,742 in the first nine months of this year, said sheriff's department spokeswoman Cindy Beavers. The number of flagged inmates is rising probably because an additional employee received ICE training and because of a video-conferencing system to remote jails allows more interviews, Beavers said. Screening is done at all jails.

The San Bernardino County sheriff's office is one of 67 agencies nationwide that have reached new three-year agreements with ICE. Six others are still negotiating with ICE.

Their room for maneuver is slight, because, unlike with previous agreements, ICE is requiring agencies to sign a standardized document. Riverside County wants relatively minor changes and clarifications, Thetford said.

"Our intent is to continue to work with them," he said.

Gilberto Esquivel, a member of the Riverside Human Relations Commission, said county sheriff's employees should not help enforce federal law. He said it is unfair that a person detained for a minor crime gets deported.

"The crime does not meet the punishment," he said. "Some of these people have been living here for years. They have families. Then all of a sudden they mess up and they're deported."

ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice said many people in jail for misdemeanors may have prior felony convictions or may be gang members.

In both counties, people stopped for certain minor violations, such as driving without a license, speeding or littering, would typically not be taken to jail, officials said. Those arrested for some misdemeanors, such as driving under the influence, are booked and subject to immigration screening. In Riverside County, ICE-trained employees put highest priority on inmates booked on more serious charges, querying people accused on misdemeanors as time permits, Thetford said.

John Amaya, associate director of immigration for the National Council of La Raza, the nation's largest Hispanic civil-rights organization, said he was pleased with additional federal oversight that is in the new agreements. But he said the agreements do not do enough to prevent the singling out of Latinos for immigration screening. Amaya said he is concerned an illegal immigrant from Latin America is more likely to be queried than one from Poland.

In addition, cooperation between local police and immigration authorities increases distrust of police in immigrant communities, leading to fewer illegal immigrants reporting crimes, he said. The program also diverts resources from other law enforcement tasks, Amaya said.

Last year, Riverside and San Bernardino counties each spent more than $500,000 to pay employees whose primary responsibility is immigration screening.

In the long run, 287(g) could save money, Thetford said. Riverside County last year spent more $11 million to house illegal immigrants in its jails; the federal government covered less than $2 million of those costs. With more criminals deported, the county spends less money incarcerating them, he said.

Lt. Rick Ells, of the San Bernardino County sheriff's department, said 287(g) doesn't affect crime reporting. The department does community outreach to assure illegal immigrants they will not be queried about their immigration status when reporting a crime, he said.

IMMIGRATION AGREEMENT

Riverside and San Bernardino counties are working to extend agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to identify illegal immigrants in county jails for possible deportation.

1,321: Number of inmates Riverside County Sheriff's Department identified as possible illegal immigrants, fiscal year ending June 30

2,359: Number of inmates San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department identified as possible illegal immigrants, 2008

$551,000: Annual cost for the seven Riverside County Sheriff's Department employees who conduct ICE screening

$585,000: Approximate annual cost for the nine San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department employees who do ICE screening

$11.3 million: Estimated cost in 2008 to house illegal immigrants in Riverside County.

$15.8 million: Estimated cost in 2008 to house illegal immigrants in San Bernardino County.

SOURCE: Riverside and San Bernardino County sheriff's departments. NOTE: ICE-trained employees in both counties spend most of their time on immigration-screening but may work on other tasks if needed.

www.pe.com

Some immigrant-advocacy groups have criticized the program, saying it leads to deportation of people who commit minor offenses.

Of course it does you idiots otherwise we have "Open Borders" and the majority of "Americans " do not want open borders...how else are you going to send a message that crossing the border illegally is illegal if you do not enforce all the laws!!

This is so rediculous and out of control it is down right pathetic and it is time to stop listening to special interest groups or people with any agenda besides putting America back to being a safe country and one of Law and order again.

Americans had better wake up and start screaming, we better stop them from getting away with not enforceing our laws...we are getting in so deep we will never get out of the mess this country is in.

We are headed in the same direction as the UK, and I thought Americans were made of better, sterner stuff, we must make our own demands loud and clear or they are going to allow all of the American contienient and beyond into our country.

In the long run, 287(g) could save money

KEYWORD: could
Obvious typo, should be would.