Vegas jail checking prints for residency

July 29, 2010

*

*
*

LAS VEGAS -- The busy Clark County jail in Las Vegas has joined a federal program to check inmates' fingerprints to identify illegal immigrants for deportation.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lori Haley said Wednesday that the agency's "Secure Communities" program lets authorities run fingerprints through FBI criminal history and ICE immigration databases.

The Washoe County Jail in Reno began using the program two weeks ago.

Haley said the idea is to identify violent and dangerous immigrants previously convicted of serious crimes, violent offenses or drug trafficking.

Civil rights leaders said the program is unconstitutional because it is based on suspicion and arrest, rather than a criminal conviction.

In Las Vegas, the federal Immigration and Nationality Act 287(g) program also lets trained jailers question inmates and begin deportation proceedings against illegal immigrants.




http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articl ... 0107290331


Kathyet