http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longi ... -headlines

Deportation-from-jail policy riles some advocates

BY BART JONES
bart.jones@newsday.com

February 28, 2007, 12:11 AM EST

Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy plans to announce Wednesday that he has reached an agreement to place federal immigration agents at the Suffolk County jail to ensure inmates who are in the country illegally are deported.

Immigrant advocates immediately attacked the plan as redundant, saying sufficient enforcement efforts already are in place.

Levy spokesman Ed Dumas said he could not immediately comment on the plan. Levy has made targeting undocumented immigrants one of the pillars of his administration.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are routinely stationed at jails to screen for undocumented immigrants, so assigning agents to the Suffolk jail would not be unusual. A spokesman for Nassau County said the county has had ICE agents stationed at the Nassau County jail "for years."

Immigration attorneys said ICE generally has in place a system where convicted criminals who are here illegally have a "hold" placed on them so that after they serve their time they are handed over to immigration officials for deportation.

The Rev. Allan Ramirez, a leading Latino activist, called Levy's latest plan a misuse of the immigration agents. "They should be out looking for criminals who are actually running around loose and trying to harm our country," he said. "That's what they should be doing rather than promoting Levy's anti-Latino agenda."

Levy contends his programs are not anti-Latino but rather are focused on cracking down on problems such as overcrowded housing and large groups of day laborers gathering on street corners.

Levy also plans Wednesday to announce his support for an anti-loitering bill before the Suffolk County Legislature. It aims to clear county roads of day laborers waiting to be picked up by contractors. Levy said the workers help fuel an "illegal, underground economy," while advocates say the proposed measure is unconstitutional.