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Illegal immigrants boost inmate totals
Traffic and drug offenses top the list of their crimes.
By GINNIE GRAHAM World Staff Writer
Published: 9/6/2009 2:29 AM
Last Modified: 9/6/2009 3:55 AM
Since 2007, more than 6,000 illegal immigrants booked into the Tulsa Jail have been turned over to federal officials, and the state's prisons have recorded a 40 percent increase in undocumented immigrants.
Traffic-related complaints are the top reason for illegal immigrants to be held in county jails, and drug convictions are the highest category for those in state prisons.
"The majority of those traffic offenses are misdemeanors and don't carry prison time; felony drug convictions do," Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris said. "Traffic offenses, even with the most severe penalties, do not send anyone to the penitentiary."
Harris said determinations about prosecution focus on the facts and evidence of a case.
"When somebody comes in on a charge, immigration status is not something we consider when approving or declining charges," he said.
"If you are a victim of a crime and an illegal immigrant, the community deserves justice regardless of who the victim is. By the same token, an illegal immigrant and suspect who becomes a criminal defendant, the community deserves justice be meted out before that person goes to the federal side."
The issue of crime by undocumented immigrants has been raised with the arrest of Roberto Salvador Alvelais-Torres, 28, who reportedly is an illegal immigrant from Mexico. He was arrested in the Tuesday hit-and-run death of Beverly Jean Duffield, 74.
Duffield, a psychologist, was killed while riding her bicycle near U.S. 75 and
the 1700 block of Southwest Boulevard.
U.S. Rep. John Sullivan, R-Okla., has advocated for a federal immigration office in eastern Oklahoma, tougher border patrol and deportation of immigrant criminals. He said that Alvelais-Torres should be treated as any other suspect, but a detainer will be placed on him for federal officials.
"He is innocent until a court finds him guilty. But we are going to hold him responsible just like we would anyone else," Sullivan said.
Sullivan pushed for government agencies to collect data on illegal immigrants who commit crimes. He said the goal is to build a case for stronger law enforcement programs and additional services regarding immigration in the Tulsa area.
"Drug trafficking and identity theft are problems we wanted to look at, and those are growing," he said. "Where we are located near highway systems, we have drugs coming through here every single day. We didn't keep really good records. It was hard to get into the immigrant communities to address the issues, like we would for any other U.S. citizen."
With Sullivan's support, the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office started a program in 2007 that cross-deputized its deputies with the federal immigration service.
It allows officers to check the resident status of a person being booked into the jail. If a detainee is found to be an undocumented immigrant, officers can place a detainer on the person for transport to a federal immigration office.
Even if the state charges are dropped, the federal immigration hold remains.
"There was a fear they would be rounding up people, but they don't do that," Sullivan said. "They are looking for criminal illegal immigrants. We are looking for those who are here committing crimes, just like we would any citizen here."
As of Wednesday, the Tulsa Jail had 210 inmates with immigration detainers. The daily average is about 83.
Jail records show that since June 1, 2007, about 10 percent of people booked into the jail have been illegal immigrants.
The Tulsa Jail also holds illegal immigrants arrested in other counties. A recent count shows 2,722 inmates who were illegal immigrants arrested in Tulsa County and 3,415 such inmates from other counties.
About half of the alleged offenses are traffic-related, according to a Tulsa Jail report of 2008 arrest complaints involving illegal immigrants. Federal immigration officers assigned to the jail brought in 711 inmates, or about 15 percent of the total, on federal crimes last year.
The other complaints make up less than 1 percent of the total: drunk driving (307 inmates), alcohol-related (298), drugs (235), larceny (80), assault and battery (76), fraud (54), firearms (39), resisting an officer (46), sex crimes (28), robbery (8), breaking and entering (5) and murder (2).
"The program has made the county much safer and allows us to remove a criminal element from our society," said Undersheriff Brian Edwards. "Now, when an illegal immigrant comes into contact with law enforcement, we can take them to Oklahoma City for a hearing."
An illegal immigrant who is convicted of a state crime must serve that sentence before being deported.
The number of illegal immigrants in state prisons increased between May 2007 and June 2009 from 401 to 563. Illegal immigrants make up about 2.2 percent of the prison population, up from 1.6 percent two years ago.
Drug-related offenses represent about 51 percent of the illegal immigrant convictions, and about 27 percent are serving time for drug trafficking, prison records show.
However, violent crimes by illegal immigrants include 18 for first-degree murder, 57 for assault, 48 for rape, 31 for other sex crimes, 35 for robbery and 17 for burglary.
A new law that took effect in June was intended to save the state money. It allows for the release of illegal immigrants to federal authorities if the conviction is for a nonviolent offense and the inmate has served at least one-third of the sentence.
The state has handed over 62 inmates for deportation under the law. Prison officials say 315 inmates are eligible for the program, including 135 who have served one-third of their sentence and are waiting for deportation orders.
Sullivan said immigration reform is still a top congressional goal.
"We need to get everyone to sit down and get common sense reform," he said. "We need to look at it from A to Z because it is still an issue. We do have a large undocumented population, and most of those people are not committing crimes. But with the (county jail) program, we are getting those committing crimes."
Traffic and drug offenses top the list of their crimes.
By GINNIE GRAHAM World Staff Writer
Published: 9/6/2009 2:29 AM
Last Modified: 9/6/2009 3:55 AM
Since 2007, more than 6,000 illegal immigrants booked into the Tulsa Jail have been turned over to federal officials, and the state's prisons have recorded a 40 percent increase in undocumented immigrants.
Traffic-related complaints are the top reason for illegal immigrants to be held in county jails, and drug convictions are the highest category for those in state prisons.
"The majority of those traffic offenses are misdemeanors and don't carry prison time; felony drug convictions do," Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris said. "Traffic offenses, even with the most severe penalties, do not send anyone to the penitentiary."
Harris said determinations about prosecution focus on the facts and evidence of a case.
"When somebody comes in on a charge, immigration status is not something we consider when approving or declining charges," he said.
"If you are a victim of a crime and an illegal immigrant, the community deserves justice regardless of who the victim is. By the same token, an illegal immigrant and suspect who becomes a criminal defendant, the community deserves justice be meted out before that person goes to the federal side."
The issue of crime by undocumented immigrants has been raised with the arrest of Roberto Salvador Alvelais-Torres, 28, who reportedly is an illegal immigrant from Mexico. He was arrested in the Tuesday hit-and-run death of Beverly Jean Duffield, 74.
Duffield, a psychologist, was killed while riding her bicycle near U.S. 75 and
the 1700 block of Southwest Boulevard.
U.S. Rep. John Sullivan, R-Okla., has advocated for a federal immigration office in eastern Oklahoma, tougher border patrol and deportation of immigrant criminals. He said that Alvelais-Torres should be treated as any other suspect, but a detainer will be placed on him for federal officials.
"He is innocent until a court finds him guilty. But we are going to hold him responsible just like we would anyone else," Sullivan said.
Sullivan pushed for government agencies to collect data on illegal immigrants who commit crimes. He said the goal is to build a case for stronger law enforcement programs and additional services regarding immigration in the Tulsa area.
"Drug trafficking and identity theft are problems we wanted to look at, and those are growing," he said. "Where we are located near highway systems, we have drugs coming through here every single day. We didn't keep really good records. It was hard to get into the immigrant communities to address the issues, like we would for any other U.S. citizen."
With Sullivan's support, the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office started a program in 2007 that cross-deputized its deputies with the federal immigration service.
It allows officers to check the resident status of a person being booked into the jail. If a detainee is found to be an undocumented immigrant, officers can place a detainer on the person for transport to a federal immigration office.
Even if the state charges are dropped, the federal immigration hold remains.
"There was a fear they would be rounding up people, but they don't do that," Sullivan said. "They are looking for criminal illegal immigrants. We are looking for those who are here committing crimes, just like we would any citizen here."
As of Wednesday, the Tulsa Jail had 210 inmates with immigration detainers. The daily average is about 83.
Jail records show that since June 1, 2007, about 10 percent of people booked into the jail have been illegal immigrants.
The Tulsa Jail also holds illegal immigrants arrested in other counties. A recent count shows 2,722 inmates who were illegal immigrants arrested in Tulsa County and 3,415 such inmates from other counties.
About half of the alleged offenses are traffic-related, according to a Tulsa Jail report of 2008 arrest complaints involving illegal immigrants. Federal immigration officers assigned to the jail brought in 711 inmates, or about 15 percent of the total, on federal crimes last year.
The other complaints make up less than 1 percent of the total: drunk driving (307 inmates), alcohol-related (298), drugs (235), larceny (80), assault and battery (76), fraud (54), firearms (39), resisting an officer (46), sex crimes (28), robbery (8), breaking and entering (5) and murder (2).
"The program has made the county much safer and allows us to remove a criminal element from our society," said Undersheriff Brian Edwards. "Now, when an illegal immigrant comes into contact with law enforcement, we can take them to Oklahoma City for a hearing."
An illegal immigrant who is convicted of a state crime must serve that sentence before being deported.
The number of illegal immigrants in state prisons increased between May 2007 and June 2009 from 401 to 563. Illegal immigrants make up about 2.2 percent of the prison population, up from 1.6 percent two years ago.
Drug-related offenses represent about 51 percent of the illegal immigrant convictions, and about 27 percent are serving time for drug trafficking, prison records show.
However, violent crimes by illegal immigrants include 18 for first-degree murder, 57 for assault, 48 for rape, 31 for other sex crimes, 35 for robbery and 17 for burglary.
A new law that took effect in June was intended to save the state money. It allows for the release of illegal immigrants to federal authorities if the conviction is for a nonviolent offense and the inmate has served at least one-third of the sentence.
The state has handed over 62 inmates for deportation under the law. Prison officials say 315 inmates are eligible for the program, including 135 who have served one-third of their sentence and are waiting for deportation orders.
Sullivan said immigration reform is still a top congressional goal.
"We need to get everyone to sit down and get common sense reform," he said. "We need to look at it from A to Z because it is still an issue. We do have a large undocumented population, and most of those people are not committing crimes. But with the (county jail) program, we are getting those committing crimes."
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