Monterey County leads U.S. in deportation of non-criminals
By CLAUDIA MELÉNDEZ SALINAS
Herald Staff Writer Posted: 10/27/2011 01:48:37 AM PDT
Poll:
The county has a higher percentage of such cases than other California counties and the U.S. as a whole.
A total of 889 people from Monterey County were detained and deported through the Secure Communities program between April 2010 and August 2011.
The Department of Homeland Security's deportation program requires state and local law enforcement agencies to share fingerprints of people they detain with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
According to ICE, 463 people sent back to their country of origin from Monterey County — 53 percent — were undocumented immigrants convicted of no crimes.
By comparison, Santa Cruz County deported 176 immigrants, 76 of whom were not criminals. That's 42 percent. Santa Clara County deported 972 immigrants, of which 209, or 22 percent, were not criminals.
In California, 29 percent of those deported under Secure Communities had no criminal record. Overall U.S. deportations showed 20 percent with no criminal record.
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82% of Americans say "it's time for you to go!"