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IMMIGRATION: New program will catch illegal immigrants in jails
Federal fingerprint databases now available to local law enforcement
By EDWARD SIFUENTES - Saturday, May 30, 2009 7:06 PM PDT ∞
A new program launched last week will make it easier to catch illegal immigrants who are booked into San Diego County jails, immigration and law enforcement officials said.
Called Secure Communities, the program allows law enforcement agencies to take a person's fingerprints and run them through FBI and Department of Homeland Security databases to determine whether the person is in the country illegally.
For years, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, which runs the county's jails, has used Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to check the immigration status of people booked into its jails.
Now, that same information will be directly available to the Sheriff's Department and any police department with access to fingerprint databases.
Under the program, anyone whose fingerprints are checked at participating jails or local police departments will be immediately reviewed for immigration violations, said Robin Baker, Immigration and Customs Enforcement director of detention and removal operations in San Diego.
The agency launched the program in 50 counties nationwide, but San Diego County is the only one with the program in California, said Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for the agency in San Diego.
Eventually, Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to expand the program to all U.S. jails and prisons.
The $350 million program is being paid for by the federal government, officials said.
Undersheriff Bill Gore said the department will continue to provide space in its detention facilities, including the Vista jail, for immigration agents to question inmates regarding their immigration status, Gore said.
Pedro Rios, an immigrant rights activist, said he sees potential problems in the program.
"I'm concerned that there isn't any visible oversight that will ensure that this program will not be abused," said Rios, the San Diego director of the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker human rights organization.
Rios said overzealous officers might use the program to try to deport people on relatively minor violations.
But Baker said concerns about potential abuse of the program are unfounded.
He said the new program eliminates another frequent criticism: that Latinos are subjected to immigration scrutiny more often than people of other backgrounds.
Everyone booked into jails will be checked, not just those believed to have been born in another country, Baker said.
Immigration agents also will prioritize illegal immigrants who pose a threat to the public, including those convicted of major drug offenses, murder, rape, robbery or kidnapping, Baker said.
Baker said it is unclear exactly how many illegal immigrants are booked into county jails because not everyone is screened.
Agents base their reviews on a person's stated place of birth or other indications that a person might be a noncitizen.
Last year, the county sent 6,500 illegal immigrants to immigration authorities after their release from San Diego County jails, according to a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego.
In the fiscal year that ended in September, immigration agents screened about 92,000 inmates in San Diego and Imperial county jails. Of those, 10,247 people were flagged on potential immigration violations, Baker said.
Sometimes, officials said, illegal immigrants fall through the cracks, especially those who were brought to the country as children, speak flawless English and can name the schools they attended growing up, which are questions often used to detect foreigners.
By checking Department of Homeland Security databases, which were not readily available before the new program started, officers can now determine whether a person ever came into contact with the country's immigration system, including arrests, deportation orders or immigration-related crimes.
Officers also will know whether a person ever requested a visa to come to the U.S. legally, or whether someone applied to legalize his or her status ---- all of which are indications that the person is not a U.S. citizen and subject to further investigation, Baker said.
Giving that kind of information to police officers untrained in immigration law could lead to discrimination against certain immigrants, Rios said.
Bill Flores, a retired assistant sheriff and a member of the Latino activist organization El Grupo, said he was involved in implementing the first attempts to connect the Sheriff's Department to immigration databases.
Flores said he sees no problem with checking people's immigration status at detention facilities.
"Just like any program, it can be used and misused," he said.
Federal fingerprint databases now available to local law enforcement
By EDWARD SIFUENTES - Saturday, May 30, 2009 7:06 PM PDT ∞
A new program launched last week will make it easier to catch illegal immigrants who are booked into San Diego County jails, immigration and law enforcement officials said.
Called Secure Communities, the program allows law enforcement agencies to take a person's fingerprints and run them through FBI and Department of Homeland Security databases to determine whether the person is in the country illegally.
For years, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, which runs the county's jails, has used Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to check the immigration status of people booked into its jails.
Now, that same information will be directly available to the Sheriff's Department and any police department with access to fingerprint databases.
Under the program, anyone whose fingerprints are checked at participating jails or local police departments will be immediately reviewed for immigration violations, said Robin Baker, Immigration and Customs Enforcement director of detention and removal operations in San Diego.
The agency launched the program in 50 counties nationwide, but San Diego County is the only one with the program in California, said Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for the agency in San Diego.
Eventually, Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to expand the program to all U.S. jails and prisons.
The $350 million program is being paid for by the federal government, officials said.
Undersheriff Bill Gore said the department will continue to provide space in its detention facilities, including the Vista jail, for immigration agents to question inmates regarding their immigration status, Gore said.
Pedro Rios, an immigrant rights activist, said he sees potential problems in the program.
"I'm concerned that there isn't any visible oversight that will ensure that this program will not be abused," said Rios, the San Diego director of the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker human rights organization.
Rios said overzealous officers might use the program to try to deport people on relatively minor violations.
But Baker said concerns about potential abuse of the program are unfounded.
He said the new program eliminates another frequent criticism: that Latinos are subjected to immigration scrutiny more often than people of other backgrounds.
Everyone booked into jails will be checked, not just those believed to have been born in another country, Baker said.
Immigration agents also will prioritize illegal immigrants who pose a threat to the public, including those convicted of major drug offenses, murder, rape, robbery or kidnapping, Baker said.
Baker said it is unclear exactly how many illegal immigrants are booked into county jails because not everyone is screened.
Agents base their reviews on a person's stated place of birth or other indications that a person might be a noncitizen.
Last year, the county sent 6,500 illegal immigrants to immigration authorities after their release from San Diego County jails, according to a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego.
In the fiscal year that ended in September, immigration agents screened about 92,000 inmates in San Diego and Imperial county jails. Of those, 10,247 people were flagged on potential immigration violations, Baker said.
Sometimes, officials said, illegal immigrants fall through the cracks, especially those who were brought to the country as children, speak flawless English and can name the schools they attended growing up, which are questions often used to detect foreigners.
By checking Department of Homeland Security databases, which were not readily available before the new program started, officers can now determine whether a person ever came into contact with the country's immigration system, including arrests, deportation orders or immigration-related crimes.
Officers also will know whether a person ever requested a visa to come to the U.S. legally, or whether someone applied to legalize his or her status ---- all of which are indications that the person is not a U.S. citizen and subject to further investigation, Baker said.
Giving that kind of information to police officers untrained in immigration law could lead to discrimination against certain immigrants, Rios said.
Bill Flores, a retired assistant sheriff and a member of the Latino activist organization El Grupo, said he was involved in implementing the first attempts to connect the Sheriff's Department to immigration databases.
Flores said he sees no problem with checking people's immigration status at detention facilities.
"Just like any program, it can be used and misused," he said.