Jeanfromfillmore
04-07-2010, 06:18 PM
Monterey County joins ICE program to identify illegal immigrant inmates
Identifying illegal immigrants at the Monterey County Jail just became easier for law enforcement officials.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Tuesday it has implemented a biometric system at the jail allowing them to receive instant updates on the immigration status of new inmates.
Monterey County joins 14 other jurisdictions in California using the system, which began in October 2008.
Secure Communities, an information-sharing system, uses the fingerprints of recently booked inmates to identify their immigration status.
"Fingerprints don't lie," ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice said.
The fingerprints are sent to a Department of Homeland Security database. If there is a match, ICE is notified and the inmate faces deportation, Kice said.
Those in the database include people who have been arrested before, those who applied for any benefits, and non-criminals, Kice said.
Before the implementation of the Secure Communities system, sheriff's Cmdr. Mike Richards said ICE officials conducted immigration status "sweeps" at the jail every few weeks or months.
"That was a hit-or-miss thing," Richards said. Last year, ICE conducted a Criminal Alien Program at the jail in March and found 68 inmates who faced deportation.
Kice said ICE will continue to do in-person visits. But with the new system, she said, ICE officials can learn of an inmate's immigration status within three to four hours after the jail booking.
The advantage: It's harder for an inmate to leave jail before ICE learns their status, and easier to find those who may be using aliases, she said.
Across the country, a total 144 jurisdictions in 18 states have the capability.
The system is set to go nationwide by 2013, paid for with some of the $1.4 billion the U.S. Congress gave ICE for its enforcement efforts against criminals with illegal immigrant status.
Since its inception, officials said, Secure Communities identified more than 18,800 illegal immigrants charged with or convicted of Level 1 crimes — such as murder, rape and kidnapping. More than 4,000 of those individuals have been deported, Kice said.
Six weeks after Sacramento implemented the biometric system Jan. 12, ICE received 6,654 fingerprints. Of those fingerprints, 343 had matches in the Department of Homeland Security's system — 48 were accused of committing Level 1 crimes. About 40 of those have since been deported, Kice said.
ICE said it focuses its efforts on targeting the "most dangerous criminal aliens" who are charged with, or previously convicted of, the most serious crimes.
Kice said that when people are identified as illegal immigrants, ICE does not take them into custody until after the local judicial process is complete.
With the new system, ICE officials said, the agency will have to boost its capabilities to arrest, process, detain, and ultimately deport criminal illegal immigrants from the United States.
Some of the solutions, officials said, include video teleconferencing to conduct interviews and immigration hearings, and using computer technology to track the use of detention beds and transportation.
http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20100407/NEWS01/4070308/1002/Monterey-County-joins-ICE-program-to-identify-illegal-immigrant-inmates
Identifying illegal immigrants at the Monterey County Jail just became easier for law enforcement officials.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Tuesday it has implemented a biometric system at the jail allowing them to receive instant updates on the immigration status of new inmates.
Monterey County joins 14 other jurisdictions in California using the system, which began in October 2008.
Secure Communities, an information-sharing system, uses the fingerprints of recently booked inmates to identify their immigration status.
"Fingerprints don't lie," ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice said.
The fingerprints are sent to a Department of Homeland Security database. If there is a match, ICE is notified and the inmate faces deportation, Kice said.
Those in the database include people who have been arrested before, those who applied for any benefits, and non-criminals, Kice said.
Before the implementation of the Secure Communities system, sheriff's Cmdr. Mike Richards said ICE officials conducted immigration status "sweeps" at the jail every few weeks or months.
"That was a hit-or-miss thing," Richards said. Last year, ICE conducted a Criminal Alien Program at the jail in March and found 68 inmates who faced deportation.
Kice said ICE will continue to do in-person visits. But with the new system, she said, ICE officials can learn of an inmate's immigration status within three to four hours after the jail booking.
The advantage: It's harder for an inmate to leave jail before ICE learns their status, and easier to find those who may be using aliases, she said.
Across the country, a total 144 jurisdictions in 18 states have the capability.
The system is set to go nationwide by 2013, paid for with some of the $1.4 billion the U.S. Congress gave ICE for its enforcement efforts against criminals with illegal immigrant status.
Since its inception, officials said, Secure Communities identified more than 18,800 illegal immigrants charged with or convicted of Level 1 crimes — such as murder, rape and kidnapping. More than 4,000 of those individuals have been deported, Kice said.
Six weeks after Sacramento implemented the biometric system Jan. 12, ICE received 6,654 fingerprints. Of those fingerprints, 343 had matches in the Department of Homeland Security's system — 48 were accused of committing Level 1 crimes. About 40 of those have since been deported, Kice said.
ICE said it focuses its efforts on targeting the "most dangerous criminal aliens" who are charged with, or previously convicted of, the most serious crimes.
Kice said that when people are identified as illegal immigrants, ICE does not take them into custody until after the local judicial process is complete.
With the new system, ICE officials said, the agency will have to boost its capabilities to arrest, process, detain, and ultimately deport criminal illegal immigrants from the United States.
Some of the solutions, officials said, include video teleconferencing to conduct interviews and immigration hearings, and using computer technology to track the use of detention beds and transportation.
http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20100407/NEWS01/4070308/1002/Monterey-County-joins-ICE-program-to-identify-illegal-immigrant-inmates